


Dark

by Dae



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Bottom Loki (Marvel), Dark Comedy, Drama, Drama & Romance, Emotional Hurt, FrostIron - Freeform, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, Marvel Norse Lore, Marvel Universe, Not Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase Two Compliant, Romance, Tony Being Tony, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-06
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2019-05-18 20:03:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 38,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14859359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dae/pseuds/Dae
Summary: Tony has something that Loki needs, but due to his circumstances, he decides the best way to get it is to trick the arrogant, billionaire into falling for him. However, things don't always go as planned.





	1. Prologue

Loki was, has been and has become a lot of things, but _content_ had never been one of them. Growing up in a kingdom with Thor as his example of perfection made the concept seemingly incomprehensible.  
  
After his attack on New York had been successfully thwarted by those “Avengers”, he almost felt content. Why? Because for once he would be able to end this miserable excuse of a life that should never have been in the first place. He was meant to die as an infant in Jötunheim, and finally he would be fulfilling that prophecy.  
  
He yearned for the moment that Odin would call for the axe. That moment where he’d be bent to his knees and given the ultimate punishment in front of the eyes of every Asgardian fool whom loathed the very sight of him. Oh he would relish in that moment. It was an ending befitting of the would-be king, lesser son of Odin, the stolen relic.  
  
But Odin was cruel. Loki had learned that in the time he’d been forced to walk in Thor’s shadow. Death would be too good for him. Death would be too easy.  
  
So, he shouldn’t have been surprised when instead of being escorted to the execution grounds, he’d been led down to the prison chambers.  
  
He was dragged along by the chain that bound his hands together. The muzzle he wore when he was escorted from Earth had been removed, but left light bruising around his lips. Other than that, the guards had left him in relative good shape, no doubt by the influence of his mother, Frigga.  
  
Offensive creatures imprisoned from the nine realms glowered at him as he passed them by. Even if Loki felt a bit anxious due to his circumstance, he didn’t let it show. A sly grin graced his pale face, and he passed it along to all of his new glaring neighbors; a way of letting them know that even in his chains, they were beneath him.  
  
It wasn’t long before they reached an empty cell at the end of the hall, a place for him to starve and fester for an eternity. The guards stopped, forcing Loki to go still along with them. In a second his binds were removed, and no later than that he was roughly shoved through the clear opening of the cell. It was created with magic, unable to breech from the inside, but an easy entrance from the outside.  
  
He turned and glared at the guards. They smirked, obviously relishing in his torment. One of them smugly said, “Have fun in hell,” before they both disappeared up the stairs. Loki watched them go, his green eyes heated with contempt. He remembered Odin’s words then.  
  
_“You will live the rest of your life in a cage like the animal you were born to be.”_  
  
He shut his eyes tightly and looked away. A small bout of rage boiled within him.  
  
Four years passed in that cell. Four years of filthy food, and nothing to stimulate his mind other than the books Frigga would send him. He let his hair grow down to his lower back and spent most of his days in the corner of his cell.  
  
It was then that, a new prisoner arrived; placed in the cell directly in front of Loki’s. He hadn’t seen him get transferred in, but when he’d looked up one day he was there: an old man who looked tattered and weak. He wore rags that any peasant in Asgard could acquire.  
  
It wasn’t until the second day of his new neighbor’s imprisonment that he decided to address Loki.  
  
“Tough break this is, friend.” When he heard the voice, Loki was reluctant to acknowledge it. In fact, he refused to, choosing instead to fully turn his back towards the cell’s opening. Despite his repellent reaction to the unwanted greeting, the voice chose to speak out again. “Loki Laufeyson. Is that right?”  
  
That, albeit frustratingly, drew Loki’s attention.  
  
He turned slowly and eyed the pesky inquisitor in a cell opposite of his. He was casually sitting on the floor of his cell with his legs crossed at the ankles. As Loki took in his appearance, a wide grin spread across the older man’s face. His clothes were that of a peasant, and his teeth were blackened to the gum.  
  
Loki took in every detail about this mystery man. He had no problems letting it be known that he didn’t appreciate the view in the slightest, and he proved that with the most exaggerated sneer he could muster.  
  
“You can call me Yinsen.” The man said, “I adopted that name in my time on Midgard. I’ve grown quite fond of it. A magnificent realm that is. Those humans… They don’t even know of the treasures they hold.”  
  
Loki’s eyes looked less than humored at the old man’s senseless rambling. Disregarding the offered name, he asked instead, “What could an old bastard know of my lineage?”  
  
“A fair share,” was the simple, evasive answer. It made Loki scoff and shake his head.  
  
“Well this was a nice chat, but if you don’t mind. I’m a little busy withering a way, so I’m sure you understand if I cut it short.” Loki made a gesture with his hand in a way of dismissing the old man and turned away once again.  
  
“My King.” That got his attention. Loki slowly turned his head to peer over his shoulder at the mysterious man.  
  
“What king?” Loki all but hissed.  
  
Loki’s words seemed to trigger the man. In a glow of blue light the man transformed into a blue version of his self. Noble markings appeared on his skin as welts would on the average man. Like Loki, his stature was smaller than those in Jötunheim, but still undoubtedly that of a frost giant.  
  
Loki’s eyes widened almost comically. His mouth gaped open for a moment. After a second or two he realized he looked ridiculous so he tightened his jaw and pressed his lips together in a thin line.  
  
He hissed, “You’re...”  
  
“Odin has a tendency to be a bit greedy.” Yinsen interjected with a grin.  
  
“That’s impossible!” Loki spat out in a most loathing tone. He understood the implication. Had Odin really been so crass as to abduct multiple children (and possibly adults) from the aftermath of the Frost Giant’s slaughter? And for what? In case Laufey’s son wasn’t enough of a bargaining chip for his weak attempt at diplomatic civility?  
  
He glared down at this man who mirrored his own, true, ugly self. It wasn’t until the man reverted back to his Asgardian form that Loki’s eyes cooled down a bit.  
  
“Oh, but it is,” Yinsen continued, unbothered by the nasty looks and heated glares Loki threw his way. “Your dear father led Asgard into Jötunheim, killed more than he had to, and took a few prizes with him.”  
  
“A ridiculous claim from an old criminal. And I’m to foolishly believe whatever you say?” Loki smirked, even if this conversation had him feeling agitated.  
  
Yinsen shrugged, “Believe me; don’t believe me, that is your choice, Young King.”  
  
Loki grit his teeth, “Do not call me that.” In the past he would have relished in such words, but it didn’t mean anything when the throne this man spoke of wasn’t the one he was raised to aspire towards.  
  
Yinsen tsk’d at the clipped words and shook his head. “My King,” Loki felt his temple throb, but he allowed the man to continue uninterrupted “I’ll let you in on an even greater secret, but I would like you to do something for me in return.”  
  
Loki sneered, turning away from the man. “I would do no such thing. I care not for your secrets.” He’d had enough of this. If his true punishment were to spend his eternity listening to this crazed man, then Odin would have to receive his props. Bravo old fool, you’ve mastered the art of torture.  
  
With his back turned, he could sense something change in the cell behind him. Even if he wanted to continue ignoring this man for the rest of his time imprisoned, he couldn’t help but be curious. He turned to look over his shoulder and gasped at the sight.  
  
That old man, Yinsen, was holding out his arm. His skin had gone blue again and his eyes, red, but this time something was different. The arm he held toward Loki was glowing with a strange, bright light. It drew in the attention of he cellmates surrounding them, those who had seemingly ignored their conversation until then.  
  
Loki’s eyes darted around before they focused again on that light.  
  
He pointed, “What is that?”  
  
Yinsen grinned as he spoke, “I’d like to tell you about my time in Midgard, in a place they call Afghanistan where I met a young man by the name of Tony Stark.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I started writing this story as an idea in my notes app on my phone, and then it just sort of mutated into a full blown story that I literally COULD NOT stop writing. That just goes to say, I had a loooot of fun writing this story, so I hope you enjoy~ 
> 
> Chapter 01 will be up very soon! Until then ;)


	2. An Unexpected Rendezvous

“Years ago, I decided to play hostage at a camp. The men there were ruthless, and would often kill just for the hell of it. While I was there I met a young man. He was captured and terribly wounded; shrapnel surrounded his heart. I created a device to temporarily keep him alive. When he came to, he had shown me a science that I’d never seen in any realm before. He created a special type of energy to replace the battery I had attached to his heart. While he slept, I absorbed that energy into this hand and something magnificent happened. The energy that came into me, it felt as if my power had increased tenfold.”  
  
Loki stood by his cell’s entrance as he listed to this man, Yinsen, tell him of this tale. Loki knew this energy Yinsen referred to very well. It was the very same energy he’d monopolized in order to activate the tesseract. During his assault on New York, he had never stopped to think that the power he needed to open the gate with the blue stone, was capable of giving those born from Jötunheim such extreme powers. He was also very familiar with Tony Stark. Just thinking about the annoying Midgardian gave him the urge to roll his eyes. The Earth human who spoke far too much, who’s body had looked far too lovely as it plunged from the highest floor of that gaudy Stark Tower. Loki stopped himself from smirking at the memory.  
  
He realized Yinsen had stopped talking to gage his reaction. After a moment, Loki responded. “Why are you telling me this? And what am I to do about this information here, stuck in this insufferable box?”  
  
Yinsen grinned at that, as Loki learned, he was prone to do. “I can get you out of here.”  
  
Loki’s eyebrow went up at that. His response was a single word, “Why?” He fully enunciated the word to accentuate his reluctance towards Yinsen.  
  
“Because you are not only Laufey’s son,” Loki made a face at that. “But also, you are Odin’s son; son of two kings. If you could track down this man, gain his trust as I did, then absorb the energy; a much greater amount than I had, you would be unstoppable! You could rule the nine realms!” Yinsen’s voice elevated towards the end of his spiel.  
  
Loki thought on this. Finally, this old fool was speaking his language.  
  
“And what have I to offer you if I were to succeed?”  
  
Yinsen chuckled at that. “A seat at your throne.”  
  
Loki grinned; a grin that many people thought spelled evil and tricks. A dark chuckle rose from his chest as he spoke his next words, “You must think me a fool, old man. Why should I believe you? If you’re so capable of letting me free, why not let yourself go and seek this power on your own?”  
  
Yinsen shook his head at this. “I cannot leave this place undetected, but you can.”  
  
Loki understood what he meant. Loki had the power to move between realms unnoticed, invisible to Heimdall’s “All-Seeing” eyes. The only issue was that his powers would be greatly restricted. He wouldn’t be able to use his staff, or move too freely without being noticed. He’d have to rely on simple tricks and illusions. It would be risky, but it was doable.  
  
Yinsen could see Loki weighing the options in his head. When Loki’s forest green eyes slid up to meet his once again, his lips tugged into another sly grin.  
  
“You can free me from here?”  
  
Yinsen’s lips spread wider, “Just say the word.”

 

* * *

 

New York was one of many cities that seemed to belong to Tony Stark. The billionaire/genius himself strolled around it as if the city itself was a mere accessory.  
  
Tonight a gala was being held in Manhattan. His name was on the top of the guest list as per usual. These expensive shindigs never made any sense to the prodigy son of Howard Stark, yet he always found himself arriving halfway through the event, already half buzzed and in search of someone to warm his bed for the night.  
  
Virginia “Pepper” Potts had been his lasting date at these events for the past five years. That was, until a couple months back when he’d been stupid enough to propose to her. The look on her face when she’d said “no” still burned whenever he’d thought about it. Their relationship went down the toilet after that. And now, even though she remained as his assistant, she’d explained that it was “best” if they didn’t work so closely together anymore. Which meant Tony was officially flying solo.

And there was nothing more interesting to do at these events than to flirt to his heart’s content. Tony had once tried his hand at engaging others with intellectual conversations over mechanics and energy resources but it always went one way or the other. One: some jackass would attempt to pitch an “innovative gadget” that was almost always half-baked and far from original. The other: he would receive a cutting remark about how he had “sold out” on the military. Didn’t you know? Being All-American was the equivalent to being a mass murderer. Who gave a shit about the millions of dollars in energy resources that Tony was saving their country, anyway?  
  
Tony rolled his eyes at his own thought as he entered the gold and crystal building. His suit jacket hung over shoulders, while his sunglasses (unnecessary at such a late hour) sat at the tip of his nose.  
  
He straightened the cuffs of his designer suit while he waved his way through the door. The woman holding the list of names hadn’t even bothered to stop and ask for his. She knew whom he was, and the flirtatious smile she’d sent him was proof that even if she didn’t know, she didn’t care.  
  
Once inside, he allowed the man by the door to take his jacket and walked through the party without a care, rattling out greetings to anyone who caught his eye as he made his way to the bar. “Hey there— oh, Clooney, good to see you’re out of rehab—You know, I would’ve thought you’d go with the blue suit, Heff.” He slapped the older man on the back as he passed. “Looks good on you, buddy.”  
  
He finally made it to the bar with a low sigh of relief. Once there, he leaned against the bar and presented the man behind it with a striking smile. “How about a martini?” Tony said quickly, and then absently turned his head to observe the crowd. However, he was stopped before he’d even gotten the chance to.  
  
A breathtaking woman pulled up and slid onto the stool right beside his. She had on a tight green dress that matched her bright eyes. Her hair was incredibly black, and it pooled around her shoulders in thick curls. He adjusted himself quickly. He only had to wait two seconds before the woman noticed his staring and glanced over at him.  
  
“Wow,” Tony said with an exhale of breath. He thoughtlessly accepted the martini handed to him by the bartender and slapped a hundred dollar bill on the counter for him. “Make that two martinis.” As he said this, his eyes never left the dark haired beauty. While the bartender prepared the other drink, Tony simply pinned the woman with his charming gaze. Neither said a word to each other yet. The girl didn’t seem unappreciative of his continued staring, and even turned a bit more in her stool so that her body almost fully faced him.  
  
After another moment, the second martini was passed to the lady. She accepted it with a meek smile towards the bartender. As she lifted the drink, her eyes drifted back to Tony. She placed the rim of her glass to her lips and he could see her smiling a little as she tipped some of the liquid back.  
  
“So,” he fought back his smile as he spoke. “You come here often?” He decided to go the cheesy route. It earned him a soft laugh once she’d placed the martini glass back onto the bar. Tony let himself smile then and knocked back half of his own drink as he waited for her response.  
  
“No,” she started, her voice laced with a sweet European accent, British maybe. “I don’t actually. This would be my first.” She looked up and around, and it was extremely apparent to Tony that this woman likely didn’t know how cute she was.  
  
“Is that so? I, for one, hate these things. But, you know how it is? Can’t have a party without Tony Stark. Every once in a while I have to show my face to keep these things alive. You, sweetheart, are in luck.” He flashed another charming smile after that, and she received it with another bit of laughter.  
  
“Am I?”  
  
“You’ve got the best seat in the house.” Tony clarified.  
  
The woman leaned forward and her lips spread into a wicked grin. “Do I now? And here I was thinking I needed a better view.” Her eyes glistened after that. Tony felt the little guy in his pants move, and it made him fluster from the sudden heat.  
  
Tony downed the rest of his drink, as the woman simply took another slow sip. Once it was empty he pushed the glass away and pinned the woman with his inquisitive brown eyes. “What’s your name, honey?” The words came out quickly, but the woman managed to catch them.  
  
“Laurie Peterson.” Tony thought he saw her hesitate for a moment, but didn’t verbalize his suspicion.  
  
“Boss.” F.R.I.D.A.Y.’s artificial voice came through Tony’s earpiece. Laurie didn’t appear to notice the interruption and was back to sipping at her drink.  
  
“Uh-huh?” Tony said discreetly, getting a questioning side-eye from Laurie that he rebuffed with a shrug and a grin.  
  
“I did a facial recognition scan and there is no match for a Laurie Peterson, Boss.”  
  
Tony looked back at the dark haired woman who was easily seducing him. F.R.I.D.A.Y.’s facial recognition was a fail safe he recently installed after a few attempts were made to infiltrate the Stark Tower and steal his technology. It seems his reputation as a playboy was an easy bullet for his competitors to fire at him. That being said, if this Laurie woman was truly trying to sleep her way into his tower, she was damn good at her job.  
  
“Is something the matter?” Tony snapped out of his thoughts to focus on Laurie’s concerned eyes. He realized her name probably wasn’t Laurie.  
  
“Boss.”  
  
“Yeah?” He said on instinct this time, and Laurie gave him an unreadable look. He grinned again, and somehow it kept her from walking away.  
  
F.R.I.D.A.Y. continued, “I can’t locate  _any_ Laurie Peterson that would be attending this event tonight.”  
  
“Mmh,” Tony nodded then quickly addressed Laurie-not-Laurie. “How about we blow this place?”  
  
Those green eyes reached his again. Her lips curled into a devious smile. “I’ve been waiting for you to ask.”

 

* * *

 

Tony had been in this building only a few times before. It was a museum, one that was built to compete with the Guggenheim in its architectural uniqueness.  
  
It spiraled upward to showcase different styles and periods of art. Rather than taking Laurie-not-Laurie out of the building, he decided to lead her upward to one of the exhibit rooms he’d, on past occasions, gotten a few quickies in. The guard whose job was to keep the partygoers in the main hall and out of the exhibit rooms was easy enough to bribe with a couple of bills.  
  
They made their way up onto the next floor. As soon as they reached the empty exhibit room, Tony spun around with his hands in his pockets to regard the beautiful woman.  
  
“Who are you?” He wasn’t one to beat around the bush.  
  
Laurie-not-Laurie maintained her act, tilting her head to the side as if the question was simply ridiculous.  
  
She laughed a little and shook her head, “I believe I already told you.”  
  
“Yeah. See, that’s the thing. I happen to know you’re lying.” Tony shrugged and stepped forward to stand right in front of the woman. Before she could react he plucked a strand of hair from her head, causing her to jump.  
  
Bewildered, she watched as Stark’s seemingly normal wristwatch, opened.  
  
He slipped the strand of hair inside; then addressed his AI. “Run that for me, will ya?”  
  
“What are you doing?” The girl asked. Her innocent facade was starting to slip from her face and voice.  
  
F.R.I.D.A.Y.’s voice came through next. “Boss, the genetic components of this DNA are not human.”  
  
Tony’s eyes narrowed. That certainly wasn’t what he was expecting.  
  
Without hesitation, Tony tapped the glowing stone in his chest, activating his newest rendition of his suit.  
  
Laurie-not-Laurie stepped back as Tony stepped forward. One second he was standing before her in his Dolce and Gabbana suit, the next he’s walking towards her as Iron Man.  
  
“Okay, new question.” Tony said, his voice modulated from within the suit, and pointed an armored fist at the woman. A missile popped up from the top of the fist and was aimed right at her pretty face. “What are you? And why are you after me? Or maybe you’re after S.H.E.I.L.D. I’ve gotta tell you, missy, they don’t take too kindly to spies. Since, y’know, they’re like the manufacturers of spies. Too bad really.” As he rambled, he wondered if he should call this one in. Was this a matter for S.H.E.I.L.D. or is this something a quick call to Romanov could handle?  
  
The woman sputtered and held up her hands. “Have you gone mad? I simply wanted to enjoy my evening with you. Is that so uncustomary?”  
  
“Bull, lady. Cut the act.” The glow of Iron Man’s fist grew brighter. “You’ve got point five seconds to start talking. Aaaaand—.”  
  
“Alright!” The woman’s voice turned into a deep, manly one that Tony easily recognized.  
  
She transformed before his eyes. Her dress and pumps disappeared into black pants, men’s shoes and a dark green sweater. Then, her frame grew much taller, while her shoulders became broader. Her hair and eyes were the only things that remained the same as she transformed into none other than Loki Odinson.  
  
A little over four years ago this man had him by the neck and had tossed him through the window of his Stark Tower. This same man led an alien army into New York and destroyed most of the city, which isn’t even fully rebuilt yet. This man attempted to take over the world.  
  
So, pardon Tony if he was a bit confused as to why someone like this would be trying to trick Tony into his bed?  
  
The helmet of his nanosuit pulled back to reveal his confused face.  
  
Loki simply grinned. “Well hello, Stark.”  
  
“Loki.” Tony looked him up and down before he spoke again. “Looking less... leather-reindeer-murder-y these days, I see.”  
  
Loki bit back his own comeback. He had a plan, and he had to stick to it. So, despite himself, he laughed at the quip towards his Asgardian armor. “I suppose.”  
  
“F.R.I.D.A.Y. call—.”  
  
“Wait!” Loki shouted, effectively silencing Tony. “Please.” He said softly after that. “I have no wish to harm you...,” he thought about that for a moment. “Or your group of overzealous friends.”  
  
“Who would you like me to call?”  
  
“Pipe down for a sec, honey—Last thing I remembered was you being an incredibly untrustworthy villain, taking over people’s minds, killing innocent people, destroying all of mankind—any of that ring a bell?”  
  
Loki shrugged and looked off. He couldn’t help but correct him in a quiet voice, “Not all of mankind. There would need to be some left to rule over...”  
  
That comment didn’t go over well, and Tony quickly shielded his face with the Iron Man mask. When his iron fist rose again with that missile, Loki quickly held out his hands.  
  
“Wait! Look, I’m unarmored, see? If I had wished to kill you, I would’ve done so the moment I approached you.”  
  
Tony found some truth in that. If Loki really wanted to kill him, he doubted he’d go through the trouble of luring Tony into a secluded area. He was known for his big actions during the New York attack. He had murdered in plain sight, and likely relished in it. The thought made Tony’s stomach turn.  
  
“Please.” Loki said, drawing him from his running thoughts. “I don’t wish to beg. But, could you hear me out?”  
  
A moment passed where Tony remained in his suit, pointing his fist at Loki as if he’d fire at any minute. It became a full minute of tense silence when Tony finally deactivated his suit.  
  
“Cancel that call and activate caution settings.” He stared at Loki as he said this to his AI.  
  
“Done,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. confirmed.  
  
With that, Tony leisurely walked around Loki. He took in his average-Joe appearance. “Last I heard, you got served a heaping pile of Asgardian justice.”  
  
“I managed to escape,” Loki answered as if it were all that simple.  
  
Tony stopped to stand in front of Loki again, his eyes shifted to meet those mischievous green ones. “And other than your obviously evil intentions, why shouldn’t I call this in?”  
  
“I assure you, I have no such intentions.”  
  
“I don’t believe you.”  
  
“I don’t expect you to. But I had hoped...” Loki paused then. Tony saw something flash in his eyes, it was maybe sadness, maybe regret; he wasn’t sure.  
  
Tony ignored it, saving the image in his brain for later. He moved on, “So you somehow escaped the prison, which I’m sure was a hell of an escape, and you come to me? By the way—the whole seductress bit, not cool. What was up with that, anyway?”  
  
Loki smirked, looking into Tony’s eyes once again. “I wanted to gain your favor.”  
  
“By letting me sleep with you as a woman?”  
  
Loki shrugged and looked away then, “I thought you to be quite the lady-lover.”  
  
“Well, you’re not wrong, maybe a little misguided, but—whatever. Point is, why?”  
  
“I wanted to gain your favor.” He repeated.  
  
“Yeah, I get that, Green Goblin, but why?” Loki didn’t get the reference. His nose crinkled at the seeming insult.  
  
“I need your help.” That wasn’t enough for Tony, so Loki sighed and went on. “As I said, I escaped from Asgard. They had plans to execute me. I got away with the help of a... friend, but in doing so I am not able to use much of my powers.”  
  
“Tough break. Still wondering what any of that has to do with me.”  
  
“I landed not far from here. Of all the people I met on this planet, your name was the biggest and easiest to track down. I am in search of shelter.”  
  
“Why not find a hole to crawl into?”  
  
Loki laughed at that, albeit bitterly, “I wish to live peacefully, Stark. Not as a sewer rat.”  
  
“What makes you think I won’t turn you in? What makes you think I haven’t already?” Tony eyed Loki, gaging his reaction.  
  
Loki simply shrugged again, looking nonchalant. “Then there is nothing I can do. I would be forced to go peacefully. As I said, my powers are limited. The minute I expel too much energy, all of Asgard would be, as you all like to put it, up my ass.”  
  
Tony almost snickered at that. “Nice takeaway from your time on Earth, pal.”  
  
Loki offered a small smile, looking almost hopeless. He looked down, feigning innocence as he gave his last plea, “Well there you have it, Stark. If you must call in the cavalry, I will go peacefully. Though, I do wish you wouldn’t.” He looked up at Tony then, and he resembled a weakened puppy. Damn, if this was a front, Loki didn’t hold back.

Tony sighed. A million thoughts went through his head. For one, he trusted Loki about as far as he could throw him, without the suit of course. Two: Loki was obviously lying about something. Three: he was still a bit uncomfortable knowing that he had almost had sex with one of the Avenger’s most lethal enemies. Four: Loki had to have other reasons to have specifically sought him out, even if it was true that he was the Avenger with the most notoriety. Five: he wondered if he should go ahead and call this in, because of all of the above. Six: he wondered if he should give Loki what he wants, because if he called it in he might just escape and then he would never know. And Tony HATED it when he couldn’t figure something as complicated (and interesting) as Loki Odinson wanting to gain his “favor”. Seven:  
  
“Okay look.” Tony held up his hand, interrupting his own thoughts. “I don’t trust you. And, even though I know it’s a terrible idea, I’ll let you stay with me. F.R.I.D.A.Y. will keep an eye on you 24/7.” Loki opened his mouth, but Tony continued without giving him time to speak, “You do anything—ANYTHING, suspicious, magic-y, glow-y, evil—whatever, and your ass is on a red alert to S.H.E.I.L.D. in less than a second. And then, Loki, The Avengers will be officially up your ass.”  
  
Loki closed his mouth after Tony’s spiel. His lips curled into a wide grin. “Lovely.”  
  
“Pff.” Tony scoffed and shook his head. He turned after that and did a little motion with his hand to signal Loki to follow him. “Come on, Robinhood, we’re leaving.”  
  
Again, the nickname was lost on Loki. But, he paid it no mind as he followed.  
  
Tony couldn’t help but think then: _What the hell am I doing?_

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 01 is here~ Thank you all for reading!! I'm excited to see your reactions!! I was happy to see that you guys enjoyed the little teaser-prologue, but now the story's really getting started. So, that being said, I hope y'all enjoy!!
> 
> I'll be posting the next chapter in a week. So look out for it next Thursday.
> 
> Until then~


	3. An Impromptu Tryst

Loki managed to transform back into Laurie, the woman Tony had met at the party. The billionaire placed a hand on her lower back and guided her into the main ballroom where the gala was still in full bloom.  
  
They shifted their way through the crowd and made it out in record speed. Happy was waiting for him at the entrance. Tony had buzzed him only minutes ago, knowing his dedicated driver wasn’t far off.  
  
Happy nodded at his boss, and eyed the lady he had his arm around. “Nice date.” Happy said discreetly so that only Tony could hear. Tony had no doubt that Loki had caught it as well.  
  
Tony grinned, “I wish.” He ushered Loki into the car first and followed behind him before Happy closed the door.  
  
Ten minutes later, and some impressive maneuvering through New York traffic, they were pulling up to the grandiose Stark Tower.  
  
Once they’d stepped into the lobby, Loki shamefully transformed back into his normal self and it made Tony jump.  
  
“Hey! Don’t do that.” Tony looked around and was instantly relieved that the few workers who mulled around the lobby hadn’t noticed them yet.  
  
“Do what?” Loki asked through honest curiosity.  
  
“Someone could’ve seen that, numb nuts. No shifting out in the open. I know you’re used to being flashy, but that’s kinda what you don’t want to be when you’re hiding out.” Through that, Loki just stared at him unblinkingly.  
  
After a moment the god spoke, “You must grow tired of conjuring these creative nicknames.”  
  
Tony exhaled a loud breath and shook his head. “You know what, forget it. Come on.” He led them to the elevator, barely acknowledging the greetings thrown at him from passing workers.  
  
Once in the elevator, Tony spoke out a command as he adjusted his watch, “Take us to the top.” Loki looked to Tony, who looked back with a cocky smirk as they began their ascent. “What? Impressed?”  
  
“I’ve seen realms you could only dream of. Why would a voice-controlled elevator impress me?” Loki cocked his head to the side and Tony turned away with a careless shrug.  
  
“Fair enough.”  
  
They made it to the top after that. The penthouse looked just as it had years ago when Loki had come as an intruder.  
  
“Well, get comfortable. I’m calling it a night. You, sir, have totally exhausted me.” Tony said over his shoulder as he made his way to his bed.  
  
Loki walked in further, taking in the posh surroundings. He pointed to the large couch once he’d gotten within a foot of it. “I’m to sleep here?”  
  
Tony was in a t-shirt and in the middle of pulling down his pants when he turned to his head towards the words. “Yeah. Don’t worry though. Very comfortable. I’ve spent many nights passed out on that baby, so trust me.” After that he slipped off his pants the rest of the way and tossed them somewhere for his cleaners to worry about.  
  
Loki looked down at the couch, then at Tony who was already settling in his bed.  
  
The genius noticed his staring, and made a point in letting Loki know he was going to bed by turning over and calling out, “Nighty-night, Prince of Darkness.”  
  
Loki scoffed and chuckled at that one. Shaking his head, he began disrobing.

 

* * *

  

After an hour of listening to Anthony Stark’s breathing even out, Loki lifted from the couch and walked over to the sleeping form, dismissing his own nakedness as he approached.  
  
Before he’d found Tony at the gala, he’d scoured this very Tower. The last time he was in New York, and plotting his attack with the Chitauri, he’d located Stark’s arc reactor quite easily. He wasn’t surprised that, due to his use of it during that attack, Tony had found a way to hide the main power source. It made things more difficult, but he wasn’t going to leave empty handed, especially if what that old man, Yinsen, said was true.  
  
With the intention to test the old man’s word, he crawled onto the mattress, keeping his movements as slow and quiet as possible. Once at the head of the bed where Tony’s face was covered with one of his arms, likely thrown over in the middle of his sleep, Loki situated himself on top of him and straddled the broad hips. He made sure not to make any sudden movements as he used his hand to the push the hem of Tony’s shirt higher up. After a second, Tony’s breathing faltered and it caused Loki to freeze, his hand still gripping at the shirt. A moment passed before Tony let out a long breath. And then there was nothing. Loki took that as his cue to continue.  
  
He managed to get the shirt high enough on the surprisingly well-toned chest so that he could see the glowing element without any fabric or bulky suit restricting his view.  
  
He squinted at the small device, taking in the brilliant light for what it is. Amazing how a mere human could create something of this magnitude. It was no wonder why Stark was so highly acclaimed.  
  
Loki reached out and stroked the device, expecting it to react to his touch, it didn’t. He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes down at it. That old bastard couldn’t have lied to him, could he? The thought made him grit his teeth. He tried pressing his fingers against it longer, but nothing.  
  
Frustrated now, he let out a low growl. The body beneath him shifted, and at that moment he felt something hard press against his leg. Loki’s eyes widened a fraction before he looked down at the lump forming in Stark’s boxers. The sight made him chuckle darkly. “Well, well. Energetic sleeper, aren’t you?” Loki said in a voice low enough that he knew it wouldn’t rouse the sleeping man.  
  
Shaking his head, Loki ignored the appendage that pressed dangerously close to his own, and focused once again on the beam of light. It was then that a thought occurred him. He allowed his hand to turn cold and blue. He grimaced at the sight, but pushed those feelings aside. He reached forward again and this time, as he touched the device he could feel something prickle at his fingertips. A glowing light radiated off of him, and it made him sigh from the calming feeling it gave him.

He could feel it: the power.  
  
Loki pulled his hand away before he ended up taking too much energy. Stark wouldn’t be of much use to him if he were to die.  
  
He shifted back and slid onto the forgotten hard-on Tony was sporting. The friction made him hiss now that his own little friend was coming to life. It didn’t help that Tony chose that moment to shift his hips upward. Loki rolled his eyes, both in annoyance and pleasure.  
  
He had to resist the urge to continue. Stark also wouldn’t be of much use if Loki pushed too far too fast. He would make sure this would be fun, but in due time. So he willed himself to fix Tony’s shirt and get off of the bed.  
  
As he turned to walk back to the couch, an idea popped into his head. He looked down at Tony again, and did nothing to suppress the sneaky grin that spread across his face.

 

* * *

 

The morning came too soon for Tony’s liking. He heard F.R.I.D.A.Y. switch on the calming music Tony had set as his eleven AM alarm. The lights eased into a brightness that would make it comfortable for him to open his eyes. When he did, he sat up straight and stretched his arms over his head. Pepper would be proud of him for getting into the habit of waking up relatively early.

He popped the bones in his shoulders and cracked his neck before he let his arms fall to his side. As he did, he noticed something shift in the bed beside him.  
  
His eyes, that were for a while half-lidded, widened in an instant. Loki sat up halfway on his elbow and smirked at Tony, unaffected by the way he was revealing his bare chest.  
  
Tony shrieked and backed out of the bed, falling unceremoniously onto the floor with a loud thud.  
  
Loki’s leaned over the edge of the bed and tried to look concerned, but a small smile tugged at his lips as he spoke, “Oh my, is this how you usually wake yourself, Stark?”  
  
Tony sprung up onto his feet and ran a hand through his tussled hair. “What the hell are you do-iiing—Jesus Christ! Are you naked?” Tony’s eyes grew even wider as Loki sat all the way up. The sheets that pooled around Loki’s hips revealed a very prominent V-line, along with tuffs of black pubic hair. “Christ! You are!” Tony looked away and held his hand out to skew his view.  
  
“I couldn’t very well sleep in my clothes.” Loki said; still sounding humored.  
  
“I told you to sleep on the couch,” Tony grumbled.  
  
“You looked to be far more comfortable than I.”  
  
“It’s my bed.” Tony realized he sounded a tad bratty, but he didn’t care. He went into his closet and came out with a pair of boxers. He walked with them over to the bed, still keeping his eyes averted from the naked figure that had been far too appealing for Tony’s liking. He held them out to Loki, and waited for the fabric to be taken.  
  
After a moment of listening to the bed dip and shift, Tony looked back at Loki. He now sat on top of the covers with Tony’s boxers loosely clinging to his hips. Even if he was taller, his body was thinner than Tony’s. Maybe that was why the genius inventor felt a strange swirl of heat at the pit of his stomach as he got another good look at the curve of Loki’s hips. It didn’t help that his long black hair was unruly, hanging in his face and on his shoulders. He looked the way most girls he’d taken home had looked after a night of strenuous exercise. That was unsettling, to say the least.  
  
He shook his head, effectively shaking the thoughts out as well, then pinned Loki with a glare.  
  
“Not cool, man.”  
  
“I beg your pardon?”  
  
“This isn’t cool! You creeping into my bed at, God knows what time. Naked! And looking like...” he stopped himself; frustrated that Loki was still smiling innocently at him. Tony had no doubt that he was being played with. How dare he play with THE player? “F.R.I.D.A.Y.!” Stark called out as he turned and briskly walked away from the bed.  
  
“Yes Boss?”  
  
“Didn’t I put him on yellow? What? Did you fall asleep or something?” He made it to the bar after that. Early or not, he needed a drink.  
  
The AI voice came through, “I can’t sleep. You know that.” The fact that she almost sounded amused pricked at Tony’s nerves.  
  
“Watch it, Girl.” Tony snapped as he poured himself a short glass of whiskey. While he downed the dark liquid in one gulp, his AI prattled on.  
  
“Boss, Mr. Odinson simply went to your bed. It wasn’t a breach in the protocol. Should I add that in?”  
  
Tony looked back at Loki who was stretching his arms over his head, exposing the many muscles wrapped underneath that pale torso. Tony turned back to the bar and shuddered.  
  
“Sir?”  
  
“Stuff it, lady.” Tony finally said. He didn’t want to analyze his reasons for rejecting that protocol. Even if somewhere in his expansive brain he’d already analyzed, dissected, rebuilt and destroyed them.  
  
“Drinking so early?” Loki’s voice nearly sent his heart flying out of his mouth. He jumped and turned to Loki; still only in the loose boxers Tony had given him. He wasn’t sure if they made matters better or worse. Tony pressed a hand to his chest and shook his head.  
  
“Y’know, you really gotta work on that.” He turned away after that, pouring himself another drink.  
  
Loki’s eyebrow lifted curiously, but he didn’t inquire. Instead, he changed the subject all together. “So… what are we to do with our free time?” Loki asked, this time making his voice sound unusually chipper.  
  
Tony side-eyed him, “ _We_ aren’t doing anything. _You_ are gonna stay put under F.R.I.D.A.Y.’s, albeit lacking, surveillance. In the meantime,” Tony tapped a button Loki hadn’t noticed on his counter and a holographic screen appeared. His eyes focused on the flashing red notification. “I’ve just been called into S.H.I.E.L.D. for an emergency meeting and am currently debating whether I should have your ass turned in or not. Because, who knows, maybe you’re waiting for the perfect moment to infiltrate The Avengers, maybe you told me the truth. I sure as hell don’t think so. But, until I know for sure, you can’t leave here without me knowing. Which, by the way, was your freaking idea. Jesus…” Tony swiped the screen away and it disappeared. “Why me?” He used the same hand to rub his eyebrow, fighting off an oncoming headache.  
  
Somewhere in between Tony’s words, Loki had taken a seat on the stool next to his and was examining the label on the Irish whiskey Tony was nursing.  
  
Loki looked up when he realized Tony wasn’t going to say more. “Have you noticed that you have a tendency to over-talk?”  
  
“I have a tendency to overthink, and possibly to under-think. Pepper’s always telling me I’m too impulsive.” Tony said the last thing more to himself than to Loki.  
  
Tony eyed Loki after a bit of silence passed. It was baffling to think there was a literal god at his bar, sitting casually… in his underwear.    
  
“You gonna...” Tony paused to make a silly gesture with his hand. Loki looked over at him then. Tony continued, “You know, shift into some clothes?”  
  
Loki let out a short breath, something close to a laugh, and nodded. “Ah yes, about that. It might draw unnecessary attention if I use my ability to change appearance for something as frivolous as fashion choices. I’m already using a good amount to keep out of Heimdall’s eye.”  
  
“Who is that, anyway?” Tony asked while finishing off his second glass.  
  
Loki eyed him for a moment, and then looked away before he spoke, “The gatekeeper in Asgard. His eyes see everything in this universe and the next.”  
  
A pause followed Loki’s dramatic explanation. Without warning, Tony pushed himself from the bar. “Alright, whatever. I’m heading out in about...” He flicked his wrist up to check his watch. “An hour or so. Gonna go take a shower.” He made his way to the back of the penthouse where Loki couldn’t see him and shouted out, “Try not to kill anyone while I’m gone!” And then a door shut, and Loki had to assume he was alone.

 

* * *

 

Tony had made it to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters around two PM. He was supposed to be there at noon, but between his shower, which had turned into a mini forearm exercise, and a long talk with Pepper, who was oversees dealing with a major company who wanted to partner with Stark Industries, it was a wonder he’d made it there as early as he did. Most of his conversation with Pepper was her berating him for forgetting who the company was that wanted to partner with him and why she was there in the first place. It only made matters worse when he answered his phone with, “Hey Potts, where ya been?” Damn, that girl had a short fuse.  
  
He saluted the agents who stood guard outside the front doors of S.H.I.E.L.D. and they awkwardly returned the gesture. After making his way through the double doors, Tony headed straight for the elevators. He didn’t want to be any later than he already was. He could already imagine the lecture Fury was going to give him. If it was anything like the hour one Pepper had thrown at him, he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to sit through it.  
  
Once he got to the double doors of the meeting room, he pushed both open to add to his dramatic entrance.  
  
He was dressed in a casual suit, accompanied with sunglasses that he peeked over to examine all the half annoyed, half amused faces in the room. “What’s up A Team?” Tony clapped his hands together as he moved to the head of the table. Without bothering to ask, he plopped into the seat and slapped both his feet onto the desk in front of him. He crossed his legs at the ankle and flashed everyone a bright smile, including Director Fury who stood at the window, obviously brimming with anger.

Romanov simply shook her head at him. Captain Stick in the Mud was glaring at him, likely for being late. Clint was used to Tony’s obnoxious behavior and hadn’t even looked up when he’d entered. He instead busied himself with sharpening the edge of one of his many bows. Banner was there, which was rare. The recluse scientist preferred to “phone in” on these types of meetings.  
  
“You’re two hours late, Tony.” Steve said in a disapproving tone that should only be reserved for parents scolding their toddler children.  
  
“Or.” Tony held up a finger. “You’re all two hours early.” He turned to address the rest of the group; ignoring the look Steve gave him. “So, what’s on the agenda today? Any avenging to be done? Aliens? Hydra? Burglars maybe?”  
  
“Stark.” Fury cut in, approaching the table with a heated glare. “Shut the fuck up. We’ve been waiting for you to show up, while you spend your mornings early drinking and powdering your face.”  
  
“How did you know I—,” he would’ve asked about the drinking comment, but a booming voice entered the room, effectively cutting him short.  
  
“Loki has escaped Asgard.” It was Thor. He bounded into the room with heavy steps. His towering frame was even more oppressive when Tony was looking up at him from his sitting position. Tony kicked his feet off he desk and swirled around to get a better look at the God of Thunder.  
  
Tony felt his heart beat a little faster as the words settled in. Loki escaped. Right, and he’s aiding him. Right.  
  
“We know not of his whereabouts. He knows how to cloak himself from Heimdall’s eyes.”  
  
Tony cleared his throat, suddenly very uncomfortable with where this was heading. He knew this conversation would come up sooner rather than later, but he hadn’t expected it to be this soon.  
  
“Where could he be hiding out? Knowing him, he’s probably out plotting a complete take over.” Natasha spoke up for the first time since Tony entered.  
  
_Or laying around my place almost completely naked_ , Tony couldn’t help but think.  
  
“My brother is smart. He will not be easily found. But we are sure that he’s taken shelter in Midgard.” Thor said and it caused Fury to move from his place at the window, closer to the group sitting around the table.  
  
He eyed Thor carefully, “And how do you know that?”  
  
“My brother’s specialty is in his tricks, but these powers of his, they require an energy that is detectable for those in Asgard. Just last night, we felt a great surge of energy.”  
  
“We?” Tony spoke up. Thor looked at him and shrugged.  
  
“Heimdall.”  
  
_Right_. Tony slapped a hand on the desk, drawing the group’s attention. “You know, this was really great and all, but I’ve actually got some work to get to. Oh, and a hot redhead assistant who’s currently out for my blood.” Tony got up after that, but Fury stopped him with the heated glare he sent his way.  
  
“Stark, you better sit your ass back down. You strolled in here two hours late—.”  
  
“Let me stop you there Chief,” Tony held out his hand. Fury bristled, clearly fighting the urge to reach out and break those fingers. “I’m gonna leave, because from what I can tell, we don’t have any actual leads. Am I right?” He held his hands out to his sides and twisted to give all of his teammates a pointed look.  
  
“That’s why we’re here, Tony.” Steve tried to argue.  
  
“No, that’s why _you’re_ here. Call me when you’ve got something.” With that, Tony turned and walked out of the room.  
  
Once he was out and in the elevator, he addressed his AI.  
  
“Yes sir?” The artificial voice responded seconds later.  
  
“Cancel whatever I’ve got going on today.”  
  
“It’s been done sir.”  
  
“Good,” he responded absently. This was already becoming too much. He needed to talk to Loki, and figure out what the hell he was going to do.

 

* * *

 

When Tony arrived back at the Tower, he wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. He’d only left Loki alone for about three hours, and he couldn’t help but feel anxious about it the entire time. So, as he rode the elevator up to his penthouse, he imagined the chaos that would greet him as the doors open.  
  
His imagination clearly had a way of running wild, because when the doors opened it revealed that his penthouse was perfectly intact.  
  
As Tony walked further in, the smell of freshly cooked meat, possibly steak, became more prominent. He turned the corner that led to his kitchen and was almost shocked to see Loki there with his back to him, standing in front of the stove wearing what looked like Tony’s Rush T-shirt, along with a new pair of Tony’s boxers.  
  
The genius acknowledged that it was weird to feel a bit of desire when he looked at the trickster God wearing his clothes in his kitchen, so he effectively pushed that thought to a deeper part of his mind.  
  
“Excuse me. Didn’t I tell you to stay put? What’s all this?”  
  
Loki had likely known he was standing behind him, because he didn’t react immediately to the words. Instead he flipped the meat over, before calmly turning to face his host.  
  
Loki smirked at Tony as he spoke, “I did as you asked. Your—,” he waved his hand in the air, searching for the right word, “Artificial Mistress sent for some supplies on my behalf.”  
  
“Mistress is a bit of a reach.”  
  
“Are you hungry?” Loki asked, pointing a spatula at the simmering meat.  
  
Tony looked at it for a moment, then back at Loki.  
  
“Why? So I can willingly let you poison me?”  
  
Loki laughed at that. “Why, of all the ways I could easily kill you, would I choose poison?”  
  
Tony shrugged, “Trickster God, right?” He walked over to the dining table he’d halfheartedly purchased during his relationship with Pepper. She’d complained too many times that there was no place to sit and have a proper meal.  
  
Loki took his sitting at the table as an indication that he did want to indulge in the meal, so once the meat was finished, he began making two plates.  
  
“F.R.I.D.A.Y., you wouldn’t have happened to get Loki anything like ethylene glycol? Sodium cyanide? Bleach?” Tony spoke while eying his watch.  
  
“None of those, Boss. Only supplies from the grocery store.”  
  
“Delivered by?” Tony inquired.  
  
“Mr. Hogan, sir.”  
  
That made Tony roll his eyes. “Oh great. Now my driver thinks I’m shacking up.” He said to himself. He looked up just as Loki was approaching with two steaming plates full of steak, broccoli heads and mashed potatoes. “What is this anyway?” Tony asked as Loki left again to pour two cups of coffee.   
  
“My thanks,” was Loki’s simple response.   
  
“Right. Fugitive hideout and all that.” Tony eyed Loki as he walked back with the mugs. He couldn’t stop himself from eyeing Loki’s hips as he moved around the table, “We’ve really gotta do something about that.”  
  
Loki smirked as he took his seat opposite of Tony. The trickster sipped at his coffee before he spoke, “About what?”  
  
“This. You!” Tony motioned his hand up and down at Loki. “You can’t keep walking around in my boxers. Oh and by the way, your big, scary Thunder God brother just put a warrant out on you.”  
  
Loki scoffed at that and looked away.  
  
“You might want to start thinking about permanent living arrangements. Preferably in that lovely Asgardian prison.” Tony grabbed the fork and knife he hadn’t realized he’d been given, and cut off a piece of steak. He stuffed it in his mouth and chewed thoroughly. He would hate to admit how good it tasted.  
  
“You plan to turn me in, then.” It wasn’t really a question. Tony peeked up at Loki as he took another bite. Loki hadn’t even touched his food and was only sipping at his coffee. He couldn’t help but vaguely wonder if he had indeed been poisoned.  
  
“I don’t know, yet,” was Tony’s evasive answer. Even so, it was the truth. It had been less than 24 hours since he’d agree to let Loki stay. He wasn’t even sure if he’d been agreeing to long term or short term. Loki had said he wanted to hide out, to “live peacefully”, and Tony knew for sure that that wasn’t true. He’d weighed out the options of privately, and closely investigating the reasons for Loki being here, or simply leaving it in the hands of The Avengers. He’d weighed it out so much in the past few hours alone he was afraid the scale was going to break.  
  
Loki didn’t press the matter. As long as Stark hadn’t given him an absolute “No”, he wouldn’t worry about it.  
  
Tony seemed to be on the same page, and swiftly changed the subject. “Wouldn’t have expected you to know how to cook.”  
  
Loki smiled at that, even though Tony realized the smile wasn’t for him, but for a memory that likely resurfaced at that comment. After a second, that soft smile turned into his usual cocky grin, “You think in all the years I’ve been alive, that I wouldn’t have learned to feed myself?”  
  
Tony chuckled and pointed his fork at Loki, “Maybe, but I’ve never seen Thor pick up a skillet.”  
  
“That’s because Thor is an idiot.” Even if the words were meant to sound harsh, they sounded almost whimsical.  
  
Tony realized then that he really needed to stop analyzing every little thing Loki said and did.  
  
“Anyway,” Tony pushed to change the subject again. “Clothes.”  
  
“I rather enjoy your clothes. They have a lovely scent to them.” Loki’s eyes glistened after that. Tony recognized the hungry look sent his way. It was the same look that Laurie-really-Loki had sent him that made him want to take her home in the first place.  
  
Tony waved his fork at him this time. “Don’t do that.”  
  
“Do what?” Loki’s eyes became half-lidded as he bore them into Tony over the rim of his coffee mug.  
  
Tony jumped up from his seat and did a full 360 turn to face Loki again. He dropped his knife down onto the table and pointed an accusatory finger. “That! Stop looking at me like that. It’s weird, and...”  
  
“And what?” Loki tilted his head.  
  
“You know what... nothing. Just forget it.” Tony walked from the table. Loki placed his mug down and got up to follow.  
  
“Stark...” Loki started, but Tony stopped him there.  
  
“And can you stop calling me ‘Stark’? It makes you sound like Fury.” Tony said as he walked through the penthouse to his bar.  
  
Loki sighed, still doing his best to appear humble, he held out his hands in defeat. “Fine. Anthony,” Tony rolled his eyes, but didn’t say anything. “My goal isn’t to upset you. I’m in fact, trying to ease your concerns.”  
  
Tony let out a short laugh and shook his head. He sat at the bar and picked up where he’d left off this morning with his whiskey.  
  
Loki continued, “I’m only trying to appease you.”  
  
“Appease me.” Tony said mockingly. He downed his drink and Loki ignored how irritated it made him to hear Tony use that fake English accent.  
  
“Yes, for you letting me stay here, and not immediately running to your commander or my oaf of a brother.”  
  
“Director,” Tony corrected. “And it’s not like I haven’t thought about it a million times. And, don’t get me wrong, I’m still thinking about it. But,” he spun in his stool to face Loki again. “What do you want? I can’t figure that one out. And I know you want something, because you’re you, which means you’re evil, and I’m not buying this ‘live a normal life’ bullshit. And, trust me, I’ve gone over every scenario I could think of. None of them make sense. Like, maybe you’re trying to infiltrate The Avengers. Maybe you’re trying to find a way to mind control me into attacking them, since your first attempt was an epic fail. Maybe you’re after one of my machines, or the arc reactor,” Loki stiffened at that. Thankfully, Tony had looked away in the middle of his rambling and hadn’t seemed to notice. Loki forced himself to relax again. “Maybe you’re just killing some time here. Who knows! But, just so you know,” Tony looked back at Loki then. “I’m not buying this Innocent Loki act. The sooner I figure out what you’re up to, the better.”  
  
Loki sighed after that. “Do you simply like the sound of your own voice.”  
  
After a moment to relax, Tony shrugged a shoulder, “I do.”  
  
Loki almost laughed at that, but didn’t. No reason to rock the boat. He realized this wasn’t going to be as easy as he’d originally assumed. He couldn’t forget that Tony was indeed a genius and would be constantly looking for answers if they weren’t absolutely clear.  
  
“Anthony,” Loki said, fixing his voice to sound as soothing as possible. Tony breathed out his nose, not too pleased that Loki was using his full name, but happy, at least, that he’d stopped calling him ‘Stark’. “Is it so hard to believe that I actually want to be here?”  
  
“No. It’s _very_ hard to believe.” Tony said quickly. Loki started his way towards him then.  
  
It wasn’t until Loki was standing half a foot away from him, looking into Tony’s weary eyes, that he spoke again, “And what if I were to tell you that I am interested.”  
  
“In what?” The words came out before Tony could even think about them.  
  
“You.” Loki answered with so much confidence that it made Tony lose his breath.  
  
“Yeah, okay,” he scoffed, trying to play off his surprise. “And what if I’m not?” He challenged and something flashed in Loki’s eyes.  
  
“You’re not?” Loki grinned and quirked an eyebrow up, questioning Tony’s resolve.  
  
“I’m not,” he said it almost defiantly. 

Tony stared up into Loki’s green eyes. Even while his face was passive, he could feel the heat in the pit of his stomach caused by the way Loki was staring back at him. It made him feel flustered. He wanted to look away, but he didn’t want to lose this silent battle they’d begun.  
  
For a while they just stared. Both of them refused to break the eye contact. The heat building inside of Tony was becoming overwhelming. His fingers twitched with the need to reach out and grab him. He wondered if Loki was doing something to him to make him feel so delirious. He also wondered when Loki would give this up and look away. He needed him to look away. Because if he didn’t...  
  
“What’s the matter?” Loki’s voice sounded so silky all of a sudden. The way he enunciated each word reached Tony’s groin in a way that made him squirm.  
  
“What are you doing to me?” Tony finally said. Loki tilted his head at the question.  
  
“Excuse me?” Loki took a step forward, placing himself snug in between Tony’s legs. “I haven’t done anything.” His voice was low now. His pale hand grabbed onto Tony’s knee. He could feel the genius twitch as he slid his hand up towards his inner thigh.  
  
Tony didn’t stop him, and he didn’t want to think about _why_ he didn’t stop him.  
  
Loki fucking Odinson was not turning him on. Even as he felt the part of him in his pants react to the intimate touch, he wouldn’t allow himself to believe that it had anything to do with the slender man feeling him up.  
  
Loki bent forward, his cold lips grazed against Tony’s hot ear as he spoke, “You’re still not interested?” He whispered and Tony audibly shuddered.  
  
Fuck.  
  
He rolled his eyes to the back of his head. This was driving him crazy. On the one hand he was getting harder by the second, and it would be all too easy to indulge in some sordid hanky-panky. On the other hand, this was Loki Odinson: enemy of The Avengers, hell, enemy of The United fucking States. And, not to mention, Thor: Thunder God’s brother! He didn’t know who would smite him first for even thinking about the things he wanted to do.  
  
Loki held onto the bar, and leaned back so that his face was directly in front of Tony’s.  
  
Tony thought maybe he could push Loki away then. He thought all he needed was a cold shower and maybe a trip to a bar to meet a nice lady to take to a hotel. But then Loki made this noise that sounded almost like a growl. Following that he slowly poked his tongue out and licked his top lip. At that moment, Tony realized he was already doomed.  
  
“Fuck it,” was all he’d managed to say before he reached for Loki. One hand grabbed the narrow hip, while the other buried itself in Loki’s thick black hair. He pulled him forward and crushed their lips together.  
  
Loki wasn’t shy either. His grip on the bar tightened almost enough to crack the wood. He pulled himself forward and pushed his hips into Tony’s, grinding them together. Their moans were swallowed by each other, neither taking the time to breathe as they nipped and licked at each other’s lips. In the midst of all this, Tony was a bit shocked by the amount of technique Loki used in his kissing.  
  
Tony gripped the back of Loki’s hair tight enough to elicit a hiss and silent curse in a language that didn’t sound human. His other hand moved down and into the back of Loki’s borrowed boxers. As soon as he could, he gripped a handful of Loki’s ass. He used his grip as leverage to pull Loki closer.  
  
Loki took the initiative next. He removed his hands from the bar, leaving it bent from his grip, and reached down to undo the front of Tony’s pants.  
  
“Shit.” Tony breathed out once Loki had detached himself from his face. The trickster god leaned forward and latched onto his neck with his sharp teeth. “Ooooh God,” Tony jumped when he felt Loki’s cold hands on his junk. Loki was stroking him slowly, and when he leaned back and their eyes met, he gave Tony the most irritatingly cocky smile.  
  
“Feels good?” Loki asked, knowing the answer by the way Tony’s eyes rolled back when his grip tightened around the head of his cock.  
  
Tony didn’t bother responding. He was prone to rambling, but he knew if he said anything then, it would only be nonsense.   
  
Loki leaned forward and gave Tony another slow kiss. The sensation, combined with the generous attention his crotch was getting made Tony coil at the strange amount of pleasure he felt. As Loki broke away from the kiss, his teeth held onto Tony’s bottom lip a bit longer before he fully let him go. He removed his hand from Tony’s pants after that, and when he did, Tony whimpered. He would completely deny the weak noise had he been asked about it later.  
  
Loki smirked at his work. Tony had successfully turned into pudding before his eyes. The Midgardian was breathing hard and looking at Loki through hooded eyes as if he was in a trance. The sight made Loki lick his lips again and he didn’t miss the way Tony’s eyes followed the movement. Loki couldn’t deny his own arousal either. He hadn’t expected to rile himself up this much, but he wasn’t complaining either.  
  
Without warning, Loki bent down in front of Tony and grabbed the waist of his pants and roughly pulled them down. Tony made a surprised noise, not expecting his lower half to be exposed to the air conditioning, but also shocked that Loki was able to pull his pants down without Tony haven’t to assist him at all. It was a little shameful that it sent another shock of arousal to his groin.  
  
But Loki wasn’t done, and Tony realized it when Loki put as much of him in his mouth that he could fit. Tony inhaled a sharp breath. The mouth on him was both hot and cold. It was embarrassing how much he had to keep himself from cuming after the first time Loki bobbed his head up and down. It felt incredible. The only thing that aroused him more was when he looked down and saw that Loki was looking right back at him. Tony bit his lip and ran a hand over his face.  
  
Was this real? Because, this was insane.  
  
Loki was giving him head; deep throating him, and all Tony could think about was how embarrassing it would be if he came prematurely.  
  
Loki grabbed the base of Tony shaft and focused his mouth of the head. “Shit, Loki wait.” Loki moaned at the sound of his name, and Tony felt the vibrations of the sound. “Oh God, please. Shit, I can’t—anymore and—,” he couldn’t manage a coherent sentence.  
  
At this point, Tony could feel himself sweating. Loki was relentless. The way he sucked and licked him was both slow and hard. He made sure Tony felt every one of his movements, yet didn’t allow even a second for Tony to cool down. It was an onslaught of pleasure and the whole time he kept those icy eyes on Tony. He watched as Tony writhed and moaned under his ministrations. He reveled in the way the inventor’s body twitched, clenched and attempted to relax. It was almost terrifying how erotic it was.  
  
Loki reached down into the boxers he wore and grabbed his own erection as he continued to suck and tease Tony. He finally closed his eyes and allowed himself to get lost in the sensation of the man in his mouth and his own hand stroking up and down his shaft.  
  
It wasn’t much longer before Tony released himself. When he did, he cried out and cursed under his breath. His legs and hips convulsed. Loki allowed him to shove himself deeper into his mouth, shooting out his hot orgasm to the back of Loki’s throat.  
  
Loki swallowed the warm fluids, and as he did he felt his own leak out onto his hand and into the boxers.  
  
After that, Loki leaned back, releasing the organ with a resonating pop.  
  
Ripped back into reality, Tony quickly stood and pulled his pants up. He ground the heels of his hands into his eyes as he let the realization of what just happened hit him. “Oh my God,” he groaned.  
  
When he removed his hands form his face and looked to Loki, he was standing and wiping his lips with the back of his hand.  
  
“What... I mean...” Tony was out of breath while he spoke. He wasn’t quite sure what he wanted to say. “That was... something else...” was all he managed in the end.  
  
Loki couldn’t help but laugh breathlessly at the offhanded comment. He shook his head and ran his hand through his black hair. Tony’s eyes followed the movements unwillingly.  
  
After a moment to allow the mood to shift, Tony spoke again, “This can’t happen again.”  
  
“Oh?” Loki walked over and grabbed a cloth from the bar to wipe away the semen on his hand. Tony watched him do it and grimaced.  
  
“Mind throwing that out when you’re done? And not ‘Oh?’ More like: ‘Oh-kay Tony’. No more impromptu blow jobs. Got it’.” Tony nodded to put emphasis his words.  
  
Loki chuckled, “And why not? Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t it _your_ seminal fluids that I’m still tasting?”  
  
Tony blushed, fucking blushed, for the first time since he was a teen.  
  
“That’s not the point. And please don’t use the word ‘seminal’ again. You sound like a high school biology teacher. And as much as I enjoy—never mind.” Tony shook his head. “The point is, this isn’t happening again.”  
  
Loki held up his hands, the smile on his face revealed that he wasn’t taking any of this as seriously as Tony wanted him to be. “Fine. As you wish. No more impromptu blow jobs.”  
  
“Good.” Tony affirmed, more to himself than to Loki.  
  
Loki let his hands fall to his side before he spoke, “You wouldn’t mind if I took a shower would you? I’m rather sticky.”  
  
Tony’s nostrils flared at that and he felt his dick twitch at the words. It forced him to reach down and readjust himself.  
  
“Whatever. That’s fine. Go. Please.” Tony turned away and walked towards the elevators. “I’m heading out.” Because he needed a good drink and a good lay. It was clear that he needed to get far away from Loki to achieve both of those things without running the risk of becoming morally impaired.  
  
Loki smirked and shrugged. “I suppose I’ll remain here, lest your artificial woman calls your group of hearty Avengers on me.” He disappeared into the bathroom after that.  
  
Tony ran a hand through his hair and stopped midway to pull on the strands a bit. He was sure a few of them snapped from the roots, but the slight pain took away from the strange feeling he was getting from all of this.  
  
After taking a moment to breathe Tony hit the button on the elevator and seconds later, stepped inside.  
  
Yeah, he really needed to get laid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Everyone! 
> 
> I was tired of reading this chapter over and over again so I decided to post it a couple days earlier than what I had initially planned~ I'm so excited to see how you all are reacting to this story. Thank you so much for the support so far! I'm mostly happy, because it's my first official FrostIron fic and I'm having so much fun with it. So, I hope you'll all continue to feel engaged and will let me know how you're feeling after reading these chapters. 
> 
> Anyway! Next Chapter will be out next week. Probably Tuesday or... Friday or... something. I hope you're looking forward to it! 
> 
> Until then~


	4. One Man Karaoke

At three AM Tony detached himself from the redhead clinging to his side on the hotel bed. He’d met her at a bar downtown, and with a few charming words, a joke or two and a flashy smile, she’d readily accepted his invite to become more than friends; even if it was just for that night.  
  
He collected his clothes from the floor and edge of the bed; slipping them on without disturbing the sleeping body whose face was smushed into one of the pillows. He’d done this so many times in the past; he didn’t really have to try.  
  
Once he was dressed he snuck out of the suite and down to the front desk. He told the overnight clerk to give the lady in his room a late checkout and complimentary breakfast, because even if he was a scumbag, he was a classy scumbag. With a generous tip, and a cocky smile, Tony left the building.  
  
Outside, his car pulled up in front of him. The hotel worker scrambled out and handed him his keys. Another tip, another smile, and he was in his car driving back to his penthouse.  
  
Sleeping with the no-name redhead did a good job of calming his nerves. He was sure that his lack of sexual contact since his recent breakup with Pepper had something to do with his reaction towards Loki. It wasn’t all that strange for him to be with another man. Tony was more of a lady’s man, but he had never been fond of limiting himself. And if he looked past all the evil, murder-y, kill-y things that was associated with Loki, he could honestly say that the demi-god was indeed very attractive. Sexy, even. But he was also, in fact, an evil, murderous killer. So, there was no way that, all those things considered, Tony would be interested in Loki.

After a ten-minute drive through the city, empty now at this hour, Tony made it back to his Tower. Not long after that, he was exiting the elevator on the top floor.  
  
It was quiet. F.R.I.D.A.Y. turned up the lights just enough so that he could see without tripping over himself on the way to his bed.  
  
He stopped by he couch. Loki was there; he was sleeping with his body facing the back of the couch. A thin blanket that F.R.I.D.A.Y. likely helped him retrieve was wrapped around him.  
  
Tony sighed in relief, and then took his tired body to his bed to collapse. Along the way he kicked off his shoes and pulled his tie from around his neck. After undoing a couple buttons he crawled onto the bed and dove in. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he was asleep.

 

* * *

   
Tony’s usual alarm went off at eleven AM. He rubbed his eyes before he was willing to open them and take in the world around him. He felt a bit uncomfortable waking up in most of his clothes from the night before, but it’s not like he wasn’t used to it.  
  
He turned over and his eyes blinked at the body beside him.  
  
Body?  
  
Tony reached out and patted the human-like lump under his covers.  
  
The body shifted, turned over, and Loki’s head appeared from under the covers. He gave Tony a sleepy grin, “Good morning, Anthony.”  
  
Tony shot up, though not as dramatically as the morning before. He got on his knees and yanked the covers off of Loki’s body. He didn’t know if he was relieved or disappointed that Loki was wearing his boxers. Loki sat up and stretched his arms over his head, showing off his muscles. Tony forced himself not to stare. He got up from the bed instead.  
  
“What are you doing? I’m pretty sure I made it clear where I stood on the whole us sharing my bed situation. As in, there is no situation because you’re supposed to be on the couch.”  
  
“Yes, but I was uncomfortable.” Loki said as he watched Tony carefully. “I don’t see what the big deal is. It’s not as if I reached into your trousers while you slept.”  
  
Tony gave him a pointed look, and Loki backed off.  
  
“What’s with you anyway? Are you prone to sneaking into people’s beds, or are you just messing with me? Because, I gotta tell you, you are reeeally good at the whole messing with me bit.”  
  
Loki scratched his hairless stomach, and the movement drew Tony’s attention for a second, but not long enough to fully distract him. “I assure you that the only bed I’ve snuck into is yours. Most people aren’t as shy as you are about sharing.”  
  
“Hold on there, princess, if you haven’t forgotten, you grabbed me by the neck and threw me out of that window.” Tony pointed at the very window Loki clearly remembered tossing him from.  
  
“It was quite the throw, wasn’t it?” Loki said, almost nostalgically.  
  
“Yeah quite. So forgive me if I’m not super thrilled about sharing my bed with a guy who tried to kill me. Mind you, I’m not too peachy with the idea of sharing my home with you.”  
  
“Yet you still haven’t turned me in.” Loki mused cheekily.  
  
Tony crossed his arms. “I still haven’t figured you out yet.”  
  
Loki moved toward Tony after that. He crawled forward, looking like a feral animal approaching its prey. Tony realized he should’ve backed, or rather, walked away. But he held his ground because apart of him wanted to see where this would go.  
  
“Oh?” Loki straightened onto his knees once he’d gotten close enough. He reached forward and grabbed onto the front of Tony’s shirt with his cold, slender fingers. He grinned when Tony didn’t pull away. “I thought I made my intentions quite clear yesterday.” Loki leaned forward and took in Tony’s scent. It was all musk, expensive cologne and… something else. He could feel Tony’s breathing falter when his lips brushed against his neck. He ran his hand down Tony’s chest towards his groin, while he moved his lips up towards his ear. Once his lips touched the warm lobe, he whispered, “That is, before you ran away to fuck some red headed woman.”  
  
Tony’s eyes widened. It was like he was in a trance and was finally able to break free from the spell. He pushed away, putting a few feet between them. “How did you—.”  
  
He was cut off by F.R.I.D.A.Y.  
  
“Boss, you have a visitor.”  
  
“What? Who?” Tony looked up as he waited for the answer, still feeling a bit lightheaded. It didn’t help that in the past few minutes he’d grown impressively hard.  
  
“Ms. Potts.”  
  
Tony’s eyes widened once again before they whipped back to Loki who was back to sitting casually on the bed.  
  
“Shit.” Tony said to himself, and then looked up again. “Where is she right now?”  
  
“She's in the elevator.”  
  
“Fuck!” Tony said, this time in a loud whisper. He looked to Loki. “You’ve got to change your appearance.”  
  
“What? No. Why should I?”  
  
Tony pointed towards the elevator. “Because in two seconds my assistant is going to walk through that door. My assistant who knows exactly who you are and what you’ve done. If you don’t change back now, your ass is—.”  
  
The elevator cut him off this time.  
  
“Tony?” Pepper called out.  
  
“Loki.” Tony hissed and Loki rolled his eyes.  
  
A second later Pepper was rounding the corner towards the bed. As soon as she did she covered her eyes. “Oh my God, Tony! Seriously?” Tony blinked at her, then looked down at Loki. His eyes widened.  
  
Loki was still sitting casually, but he had the looks of his female self ‘Laurie’. And apparently, Laurie had no problem with sitting around with her tits out.  
  
“Jesus! Will you cover yourself!?” Tony quickly pushed the covers towards Loki, then rushed around the bed to catch up with Pepper who was already heading back towards the elevator. “Potts!” He called after her. She stopped briskly, but didn’t turn to face him.  
  
“You know, Tony, I’m really not in the mood for this today.”  
  
Tony moved around to stand in front of her. He tried a charming smile, but she huffed and turned her face away from him. “Look, I know. So sorry about that, really. She uh... yeah. Just forget about her. Why are you here anyway? Weren’t you in Tokyo or something?” Pepper turned to face him with a heated glare.  
  
“I was in Seoul, Tony. Seoul! I told you three times yesterday. And I’m here because I got a million calls from Senator Rose and General Flint that you just up and canceled yesterday. Not to mention several phone conferences you missed. What in the world is going on? And please,” she rolled her eyes as she drawled out her last word. “Don’t tell me it has anything to do with Lady Olympia over there.” She nodded her head in the direction of the bed.  
  
Tony laughed a little and nodded. “Olympia, that’s good. You gotta save that one.”  
  
She stomped her foot. “Tony! This is serious.” Her voice was doing that angry whiny thing, and it forced him to stop his kidding around.  
  
“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. Something sort of big with The Avengers came up and I got a little busy.” Her eyes softened and it made him feel a little worse about how much truth he was omitting here. “Tell you what. I’ll personally call Senator What’s-His-Name and General Whoever, and reschedule those important meetings.” Tony raised his eyebrows at his suggestion, awaiting Pepper’s approval. He could see a small smile forming on her lips. Eventually she let out a small laugh and shook her head.  
  
“It’s Senator Rose and General Flint. You better not forget their names when you call them.” She pointed a finger at him and he nodded.  
  
“Yeah, yeah, of course.” He grinned sweetly and it made her roll her eyes playfully.  
  
“Fine. I’m heading to DC. I just came by to make sure you weren’t dead.” She turned to the elevator, but Tony stopped her from pressing the button by placing a hand on her shoulder.  
  
“Wait. Why not stick around for a little. We can go grab some breakfast or you know.” He wiggled his eyebrows and she laughed.  
  
“Yeah right. And what about your friend?”  
  
“My... Oh! Him—her! Her? Right. She’s just a girl I met. Nothing serious. I mean, not like I’m meeting a lot of girls. Well, actually—.”  
  
“Tony.” Pepper stopped him there, smiling sadly. “It’s okay. I’ll let you know when I land in DC.” She turned after that and pressed the button to go down.  
  
Tony felt his chest tighten, but he didn’t object. He rose his hand as she stepped into the elevator and didn’t let it fall to his side until the doors closed.  
  
“So you have a thing for redheads.”  
  
Tony almost jumped at the intruding voice, but thankfully he was able to keep his composure. He turned to Loki, who was back to looking like Loki, and wearing one of Tony’s shirts.  
  
“ _That_ is none of your business. And how do you know about last night?” He didn’t want this conversation to become about Pepper.  
  
Loki went over to the couch and sat down, crossing his legs soon after. “I could see her face when I touched you.”  
  
Tony blinked at that, and then walked forward. “What? Like psychic, clairvoyance?”  
  
Loki chuckled and offered a single nod. “You could call it that, sure.”  
  
“That’s freaky. You do that all the time or what? Can you control that ability? Shouldn’t you be worried about your boy Heimdall spotting you with you doing your whole psychic thing?” Tony walked backwards towards the bar as he spoke. Once he was close enough, he turned and began working on making himself a drink.  
  
“It doesn’t send out enough energy for Heimdall to sense through my cloaking. About the same amount as when I change form, actually.” Loki explained absently. Tony halted in his drink pouring, surprised that Loki had opted in telling him the truth. Or at least, it sounded like the truth.  
  
The room fell into silence. Tony finished pouring his brandy and took a sip once the bottle was placed to the side. He eyed Loki, who appeared utterly, and entirely bored.  
  
Tony himself wasn’t used to staying quiet for too long. Not even when he was alone. Why else would he create an artificial entity that readily responded to whatever was said to it? “So what do you usually do? When you’re not, y’know, doing villainy things.” He took another sip of his brandy as he waited for an answer.  
  
Loki looked up at him, seemingly shocked by the question. He looked down after a moment, appearing to be searching for the right answer. After what felt like forever to Tony, he finally responded. “I do enjoy music. Your planet’s music, in particular, is quite interesting.” His response sounded hesitant, as if he’d never fully considered his own interests.  
  
“You’re kidding.” Tony perked up. He walked around the bar with glass and over to the couch. “Do you even have music in Asgard?” He sat down beside Loki, conscious of the space he put between them.  
  
“We do. It’s not something I care to listen to.”  
  
“Oh yeah?” Tony looked up as he thought about this. “What does it sound like?”  
  
Loki smiled, “Lots of violins and cellos; harps. The melodies often tell stories about our history. It’s a lot like your planet’s operas and it’s not very appealing.”  
  
“And what do you find... appealing?” He tried to make that sound less sexual than it had come out. He almost let out a sigh of relief when Loki didn’t turn the conversation into something else.  
  
Loki stopped to think for a minute. His eyebrows scrunched together in a way that Tony thought was cute, but he let the passing thought fade away.  
  
Loki finally spoke up after a minute of mental debate. “I don’t know what you call it... rock and roll?”  
  
Tony’s face lit up like a child on Christmas. He leaned back and grinned. “Now you’re speaking my language, Prince of Darkness.”  
  
Loki’s lips quirked up at Tony’s excitement, “I take it you approve?”  
  
“That depends.” Tony side-eyed him. “Who do you listen to?”  
  
Loki waved his hand dismissively. “I’ve never taken the time to commit their names to memory.” Tony deflated a little, but wasn’t completely deterred.  
  
“Alright...” Tony looked away. After a second he looked up, “F.R.I.D.A.Y., play something good. Speakers at 15% volume.”  
  
She readily responded, “On it, sir.”  
  
And then the sound of an electric guitar strumming made Loki jump a little. He wasn’t expecting the sudden impact. The speakers were awfully loud. He was afraid to know what 100% volume would be like. The drums came in next. Twenty seconds in, Loki subconsciously bobbed his head to the music. Tony was staring at him, calculating but amused. He’d long forgotten about his drink, so when he remembered it was still in his hand he placed it on the table in front of the couch.  
  
The next thing Tony did surprised Loki, but had made him instantly burst into laughter.  
  
The genius sprung up from the couch and grabbed onto his air guitar. Then, as the lead singer of this band started on his verse, Tony began singing along to the lyrics in the most god-awful voice.  
  
“Living easy, living free  
Season ticket on a one-way ride  
Asking nothing, leave me be  
Taking everything in my stride”  
  
Loki waved his hand, attempting to get the billionaire to stop. He was still laughing, and if he’d taken a second to think about it, he would have realized that it had been a century since he’d laughed this hard, maybe longer.  
  
When the chorus hit, Tony jumped up on the couch and whipped his head back and forth to the beat. All the while, he managed to maintain and steady air guitar. Rather than sung, he more like bellowed the lyrics:  
  
“I’m on the hiiiiiighway to hell!!!  
On the hiiiiiighway to hell!!!!  
Hiiiiiighway to—”  
  
Loki stood up then, unable to take this show anymore, he shoved Tony as lightly as he could and knocked him off his feet.  
  
Tony fell on his butt on the couch. He was laughing when he spoke, “Alright F.R.I.D.A.Y., cut it off.”  
  
When the music died down, their laughter went with it. All that was left was Tony’s heavy breathing and light chuckles from the both of them.  
  
Tony turned on the couch to plant his feet on the ground before he spoke, “What’s wrong? Afraid you’ll melt if you laugh too hard?”  
  
Loki chuckled a bit more and shook his head. “That little performance of yours could easily be used as a method of torture.”  
  
Tony grinned, forgetting that this situation was supposed to be awkward, and thinking way too much about how good Loki looked when he smiled and laughed genuinely. Not in that, I’m-up-to-something way he usually smiled and laughed.  
  
“But, to answer your question,” Loki ran a hand through his long hair. “I have heard that song before, and it does suit my tastes.”  
  
Tony took a second to recall how they’d gotten to his one-man karaoke session, and then he snapped his fingers and pointed at Loki. He opened his mouth to say something when F.R.I.D.A.Y. cut in.  
  
“Boss, you’ve got an incoming call from Director Fury.”  
  
Tony went rigid. It was then that the situation dawned on him. The amusement in his eyes left him. He turned away from Loki and got up from the couch without another word to the trickster god.  
  
“Put him through.” Tony said. He could feel his skin heat up. What was this feeling? Embarrassment? Shame? They all reminded him of a time in his life that was long forgotten. He tried to forget them now too.  
  
“Stark. We need you in Idaho.”  
  
Tony’s face scrunched at the unexpected statement. “Idaho?” He questioned, but began taking off his shirt from the night before and heading to the bathroom. He didn’t want to look at Loki, especially not while he was speaking to the director of the corporation that wanted the villain’s head.  
  
“There’s an attack in Boise. We think it’s alien. The whole goddamn city is on fire.”  
  
Tony finished stripping himself once he was in the bathroom. “Okay, hold that thought. Be there in twenty.”

 

* * *

 

As promised, Tony got to the scene in twenty minutes. Even with a five-minute shower and five minutes to change, it had taken little over nine minutes to get to Boise when flying at full speed.  
  
And Fury was right. It was some sort of alien attack all right, but they were nothing serious. Captain America was the only other one fending off the streets. Iron Man took the ones out that remained in the air. Even though they were weak, there was a lot more of them than either avenger would have liked. Hundreds maybe. It was enough to consider calling backup, but not enough to actually do it.  
  
In four hours, they were victorious. Steve explained that he would be sticking around to do clean up. Tony would have just shrugged and flown off, but a part of him wasn’t ready to head back to the penthouse yet.  
  
Tony was impulsive. That was his biggest weakness and strength. He often made hasty choices based on the millisecond it took for his brain to analyze a situation. A lot of times his impulsiveness got him what he wanted, but came with consequences. In this scenario he wasn’t too sure what he wanted. All he knew was that he was hard headed and needed, rather than wanted, to get to the bottom of things. Loki was a complicated equation, maybe the most complicated one he’d encountered.  
  
“Tony,” Steve called as he approached the tall Iron Man suit. Tony turned to him and the nanotech in his helmet pulled back to reveal his face.

  
“What’s up Cap’n?” He threw one of the fallen support beams in a pile with the rest he’d gathered before he turned to fully face Captain Rogers. They’d been cleaning for almost two hours. It didn’t even feel like it with the way Tony had been lost in thought.  
  
“The mayor wants to meet with us. They’ve got it covered here for now.” He explained.  
  
Tony nodded. “Yeah, okay.”  
  
Steve was about to turn and walk away, but he paused, “Uh...” he’d been expecting a smart ass response, not that docile, cooperative answer. “You okay, Tony? We don’t have to meet with him if you’re not feeling well.” He’d noticed it while they were in battle too. Tony had barely anything to say, and if he did speak it was often crucial to the battle itself. He hadn’t made any of his usual quips or puns (ones that Steve rarely understood), and it was a bit unsettling, to say the least.  
  
Tony looked at him for a moment. He realized his behavior had been a bit off, so he gave the Captain a grin. “Yeah, why? You got somewhere you need to be? A hot date? How long has it been for you anyway, Captain Crunch?”  
  
Steve glowered. He shouldn’t have suspected that anything was wrong. He’d practically asked for this. He sighed and walked away, albeit relieved.  
  
“Hey, where’re you going? Was I right?” Tony walked after him, pushing any and all thoughts of Loki to a deeper section of his mind.

 

* * *

 

By the time Tony got back it was past midnight. The lights were already off and, again, it was quiet.  
  
He walked through and noticed, almost immediately, that Loki wasn’t on the couch. He sighed to himself and walked over to his bed and there Loki was, sleeping with his legs curled up halfway to his chest.  
  
Tony was too exhausted to do anything about it. Clearly Loki had chosen to listen to only half of his request about sneaking into his bed.  
  
He walked away and stripped himself of his clothes, save for his boxers. He went over to the dresser in his closet and took out a shirt, then pulled it over his head. Once he got back, he climbed into his bed without giving it much thought. Seconds later, he was asleep. When he finally stopped thinking about who was on the other side of his mattress, it wasn’t so bad.

 

* * *

 

  
Three weeks passed and nothing really changed. Tony had been called to go on business trips in Germany, South Korea and LA. He’d even stopped at Miami for a couple days to stay at his mansion for the first time in what felt like years.  
  
When he came home every couple days or so, Loki would be on the couch reading a book F.R.I.D.A.Y. retrieved for him, listening to music or experimenting in the kitchen. During the first week, Tony had ordered a generous amount of clothes for Loki. His guessing when it came to size was spot on. It definitely felt less uncomfortable coming home to Loki when he wasn’t parading around in boxers that didn’t fit him and his own T-shirts. Now he wore jeans, khakis and sweatpants (all things Tony had never imagined the god would wear on his own) along with plain colored t-shirts and sweaters.  
  
Now, when they interacted, they’d share a couple words, then Tony would fall asleep, tired from all the traveling. When he’d wake up in the morning Loki would be curled up on the other side of the bed. It was becoming a strange pattern. Loki was starting to feel like a housewife, and there were a million things wrong with that sentence. However, there hadn’t been any mention of sex or attempts since the first couple days. Tony wasn’t sure if he was relieved or disappointed. The fact that he had to question that was problematic enough.  
  
It was coming up on the fourth week since Loki had started staying with him. His schedule was relatively clear and he hadn’t heard anything from S.H.I.E.L.D. about Loki’s escape from Asgard or any other intergalactic attacks on Earth. So when Tony woke up and turned over to see Loki’s sleeping face beside him he wondered to himself how much longer this would last. It’s almost been a month and Loki hadn’t done anything to suggest he was up to no good. He still didn’t know if he could trust Loki, but he hasn’t attempted to kill him in his sleep either, so that was good.  
  
He sighed and sat up. Loki’s eyes opened as soon as he did. Tony learned early on that Loki was an incredibly light sleeper, so he wasn’t surprised when those green eyes looked up at him. He was surprised, however, when a pale arm snaked around his waist.  
  
“Anthony,” Loki cooed and licked his dry lips. “I’m horny.”  
  
Tony choked on his own breath. He wiggled out of the strong grip and scurried out of the bed. “Whoa there, Green Lantern, what did I say about—.”  
  
“Yes, I remember,” Loki grumbled. He sat up and ran his hand through his hair, looking both frustrated and alluring. “It’s been some time and you’ve had me confined in this home of yours at all hours of the day…”  
  
Tony thought about this. He’d never really considered that Loki might feel anxious about being stuck in his penthouse. It had to be a lot nicer than the cell he was locked away in, right? But, he was cut off from the world, and constantly on surveillance. It wasn’t unreasonable.  
  
Tony sighed, “Look, we talked about this, and I’m still not sure if letting you run around the same city you tried to destroy is a good idea. You did kill, like, a lot of people. I mean, an uncomfortable amount of people. And honestly, that’s reason enough not to let you out of my sight—.”  
  
“Anthony,” Loki cut him off again. He got up on his knees this time. Tony’s throat went dry at the sight of the pronounced bulge in Loki’s boxer briefs. Loki moved forward on his knees, and stopped when he was inches away from where Tony stood by the bed. In one swift movement, he grabbed onto Tony’s wrist and yanked him hard enough to pull the inventor onto the bed. He quickly maneuvered their bodies around until Tony was on his back and he was straddling his hips. Loki looked down at him with darkened eyes. “I never said I wanted to leave.”  
  
Tony could feel himself twitching in his boxers. He was getting hard fast. The last time he’d had sex was with that redhead he barely remembered. So just feeling Loki’s own arousal pressed against his was enough to send little bolts of electricity through his skin.  
  
Loki reach down and boldly pulled his dick from his boxers and then started slowly stroking himself.  
  
_God help him_ was all Tony could think. He’d wanted to say that the sight of Loki aroused and stroking himself on top of him wasn’t extremely erotic, but he couldn’t.  
  
Tony was fully hard now, and almost subconsciously, his hips shifted upward. He hissed at the feeling of his arousal grinding into Loki’s ass, and the appreciative moan Loki gave him in response. He didn’t take the time to think when he moved his hips again. Loki fell forward this time, and used one hand beside Tony’s head to prop himself up. He continued to stroke himself with the other hand, while Tony lost himself in the sensation. Seconds later the genius grabbed Loki’s hips and began a steady grinding rhythm. Loki bit his lip and let out a low growl.

While Tony was fully rocking their hips together, it made them grunt, moan and hiss at the tingling feeling it sent to their nerves.  
  
Loki dipped his head and closed the distance between them. Their lips barely touched. They simply brushed together with the movement of their hips. But then Loki poked his tongue out, and licked Tony’s bottom lip. “Shit,” Tony cursed as he let out a jagged breath he hadn’t known he was holding.  
  
The hand Loki placed by Tony’s head reached out to grab the messy brown mop of hair. He fisted the hair painfully tight, but rather than it deterring Tony, it made him grind even harder against Loki. It was then that their lips finally melded together in a heated kiss.  
  
They bit and sucked at each other’s lips, drawing out sordid noises from the both of them. It wasn’t until Tony reached up and grabbed Loki’s ass that they pulled apart. Loki gasped and, almost immediately after, released himself all over Tony’s favorite Led Zeppelin T-shirt. Tony came soon after that with a loud curse, and when he did, he swore he could see stars.  
  
They stayed like this for a few seconds, both attempting to collect themselves.  
  
Loki recovered much quicker than Tony did. He nonchalantly rolled off of him and fixed his boxers.  
  
Tony let out a few heavy breaths before he looked down at himself. “Jesus Christ,” he said when he noticed the fluids covering John Bonham’s face.

 

* * *

 

   
“I said I was sorry. What more do you want?” Loki apologized for what felt like the thousandth time for the god, though in reality it had only been maybe the fifth or sixth time.  
  
After their little rut the previous morning, Tony hadn’t really said anything afterwards. He’d just hopped in the shower, changed into a suit and disappeared.  
  
It was three PM the next day and Loki was sitting on the couch reading Macbeth when he finally returned.  
  
Tony went straight to the bar without saying anything and that’s where Loki was now. He was wearing a tight pair of jeans and a white shirt, courtesy of Tony’s shopping spree.  
  
When Tony hadn’t responded to his latest apology, Loki rolled his eyes and leaned against the bar. “I don’t see what the big deal is. You act as though I’ve stripped you of your innocence.”  
  
That got Tony’s attention. The inventor scoffed and shook his head, all the while, pouring himself his second drink. “You don’t see the issue?” He finally spoke.  
  
“I don’t.” Loki crossed his arms, his tone was challenging. “I believe it’s clear that we find each other attractive. You seemed to enjoy yourself on both occasions...”  
  
Tony held up his hand to stop him. “That’s not the issue, Loki: God of Mischief. Trickster God. Silvertongue! Evil Asgardian villain who kills people and tries to take over the world! Any of those names ring a bell?”  
  
Loki shrugged, “A few, I suppose.”  
  
“Anyone ever tell you you’re hilarious,” Tony said in an incredibly dry voice.  
  
“I have been under your roof for nearly a month, Anthony. I still haven’t gained your trust?”  
  
Tony looked at him for a moment, his eyes wavering, but then he looked away to keep himself from giving in.  
  
“No. You haven’t.” He downed the rest of his liquor.  
  
“I suppose I can’t blame you.” Loki spoke after a while. He sounded dejected. “I did threaten your lives, and the lives of your friends... and your world.”  
  
“Don’t forget the literal murders,” Tony pointed out.  
  
Loki chuckled humorlessly, “No, I suppose I can’t. But that was years ago. Am I not allowed to have a change of heart? And when am I to leave here? Do you plan to keep me captive forever?”  
  
Tony had thought about that many times. Loki had initially wanted his help to hide away from his pursuers in Asgard. He’d claimed he needed a place to stay, but not indefinitely. Maybe until they’d stopped looking for him, maybe when he’d figured out how he would survive living like a normal human (if that truly was his intentions), but not forever.  
  
Tony sighed and pushed his empty glass away. “What are your plans? And really, honestly, don’t lie. Just—what are you planning to do when you leave?” He looked into Loki’s unwavering eyes. The pause between his question and when Loki answered was indiscernible. He couldn’t figure out if it was because Loki was thinking up a lie or if he was determining the answer himself.  
  
“Well I...” Loki paused, sounding unsure. “I have never lived a normal life. I was hoping you could teach me.”

  
Tony stared at him for a while after that, then rubbed his eyebrows with a tired hand.  
  
“F.R.I.D.A.Y. put Loki on green, and get Happy to bring me a phone.”  
  
“Sure thing, Boss.”  
  
Loki’s eyes widened. He hadn’t been expecting that.  
  
“Green?” He questioned.  
  
“You’re still on constant surveillance, but you can leave the tower without F.R.I.D.A.Y. bumping you up to Red and sending a call to S.H.I.E.L.D. But if you leave, you have to come back before midnight. And I have a condition.”  
  
Loki’s eyebrow quirked at this, “I’m listening.”  
  
“Two actually.” Tony corrected after second thought. “One: you have to change your appearance when you leave. Everyone in this city knows your face. And two...” he hesitated. “No more inappropriate touching.” God he sounded like his parents. “Or grabbing or—you know what I mean.”  
  
“But...” Loki was going to argue, but Tony wasn’t finished.  
  
“Unless!” He held up a finger. “Unless I start it.”  
  
Loki, bewildered for a moment, let his lips spread into a wide grin. He quickly moved forward and placed a chaste kiss on Tony’s lips. He pulled away and licked his lips. “My thanks, Anthony.”  
  
Tony watched with his mouth open as Loki headed back to the couch to continue reading his book. “No more thank you kisses either!” Tony declared and Loki only laughed at his words.  
  
Tony turned his back to Loki and rested his elbows on the bar. The whole time, he tried to will himself to stop being so damn flustered.

 

* * *

 

An hour later Happy showed up at the penthouse. When he got inside he noticed a familiar black haired woman sitting on the couch in jeans and a white t-shirt. He’d seen her many times beforehand. The first time was at the gala he’d picked Tony up from about a month ago. The second time was when he’d gotten a call from F.R.I.D.A.Y. asking him to bring a random assortment of cooking supplies to penthouse. After that, it became almost routine for F.R.I.D.A.Y. to call for something and when he’d bring it, the same beautiful, black haired woman would be there.  
  
It was only strange because he’d known Tony since he was a kid and the only lasting relationship he’d been in was with Ms. Potts.  
  
But by now he wasn’t surprised when he was called to bring a new cell phone to the penthouse, and that same black haired woman was there, this time quietly reading Shakespeare on the couch as if she lived there.  
  
“Happy, how’s it going? Feels like I haven’t seen you in forever. Got what I asked for?” Tony rattled out his greeting and Happy dully nodded in response.  
  
“It’s one of the newer models.” Happy handed the phone over. He sent a weary look at the woman who was completely disregarding his presence, then looked back at Tony and whispered. “She the new girlfriend, boss?”  
  
Tony smiled, “You applying to be my relationship advisor?”  
  
Happy shrugged. “Not at the moment. Any openings?” He joked and Tony slapped his arm with a short, but friendly laugh.  
  
“Not at the moment. Thanks for this though.” He held up the boxed phone, and then gave Happy a light push towards the door. “Tell the wife I said hello.”  
  
Happy rolled his eyes. “I’m not married.”  
  
“I know, just for future references. Say hi to the kids too!”  
  
Happy stepped into the elevator and Tony swore he heard him grumble something unseemly under his breath as the doors closed.  
  
Once they were alone, Tony turned around and was almost shocked to see that Loki had turned back to his normal self already.  
  
“Here.” He handed the box to Loki, who sat his book aside to accept it. “It’s a phone.”  
  
Loki scoffed. “I know what it is.” He turned the box in his hand, examining it, then opened it. He pulled the phone out. It was already set up and powered on. He turned the small device in his hand this time. It was just a screen. The buttons were limited. This was not the type of phone Loki was used to.  
  
“Let me see.” Tony held out his hand when he noticed Loki’s hesitant behavior. Loki looked over the device once more, and then slowly handed it over.  
  
Tony sat down beside Loki with it, and tapped his fingers on the screen. He leaned close and explained the simple functionality of it. He went through adding contacts as he added his own name and number, then things like the navigational system, the web browser and even where Loki could download and play games. It was definitely not like the phones Loki was used to.  
  
He handed the phone back to Loki, who was still processing the information about the device.  
  
Tony got up to walk away, but stopped to say one more thing. “Oh, and just so you know. I put a tracker on that phone for F.R.I.D.A.Y. to monitor—tracks your movements, listens for any suspicious sounds or conversations, the basics. If you move too fast, if you travel too far, if it detects any talk about killing, stealing, attacking or the sound of someone screaming or, y’know, dying; it’ll put you on Red. So try not to go on any killing sprees while you’re out, okay?”

 

* * *

   
The next day Loki hadn’t exercised his right to leave yet. Instead he busied himself with figuring out the phone Tony had given him. When he’d grown tired of that, he looked around the penthouse, wondering if there was anything to do when Tony walked in.  
  
Tony was shocked to see the trickster god sitting on the couch, wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt, when he’d gotten back from an afternoon meeting with the Mayor of New York.  
  
Tony went over to the couch and plopped down. He shifted his body so that he was fully facing Loki with one of his legs propped up on the couch.  
  
“Why’re you still here? I figured you’d immediately take the chance to leave. Well, actually, I figured you’d leave and not come back and then I’d have to go after you with my group of super friends.”   
  
Loki smirked at that, but shook his head. “I didn’t feel the need to go anywhere today.”  
  
Tony laughed at that, “You’re kidding. You’ve been stuck here for a month. And, not to mention, you’re Loki, known trickster. You’re telling me that you didn’t have any scheming to do?”  
  
“No, not today at least.” Loki’s smirk turned into a full blown devious grin.  
  
“Ah, I knew you’d be up to something.” Tony half joked.  
  
“And what of you?” Loki asked, quirking an eyebrow at Tony as the genius turned from him and was now reclining lazily against the couch.  
  
“What? Oh me? I’m beat actually. Those politicians sure know how to talk your head off.”  
  
“Oh? Have you met your match?” Loki smiled when Tony gave him a look.  
  
“Ha, ha. Very funny.” Tony looked up after that, addressing his AI. “F.R.I.D.A.Y., bring the TV up please.”  
  
“TV?” Loki questioned, and had to hide his surprise when the floorboards shifted. A large black screen revealed itself from below, and moved up until the full screen was in view of the couch.  
  
Tony looked to Loki, “What’s wrong? Never seen a TV before?” He joked, but was surprised by the response.  
  
“Actually, no. I’ve never really seen one in person.”  
  
Tony’s eyes widened. “You’ve NEVER seen one?”  
  
Loki gave him a weary look. “Is that so hard to believe? I‘ve not spent too much time on Midgard.”  
  
“Yeah. That’s true. I guess with all the killing, you didn’t stop to pop in a DVD. Tell you what!” Tony snapped his fingers as a thought came to mind. “Let’s watch something. A movie or… I don’t know.”  
  
“Weren’t you about to put something on?” Loki pointed towards the screen but Tony shooed him  
  
“Just the news. You’d probably be into something like horror, huh? Maybe action...”  
  
“What? Are you going to put on some sort of play?”  
  
Tony eyed him. “I was thinking, more like, a movie, Shakespeare.”  
  
Loki’s nostrils flared. “I am nothing like that blubbering fool.”  
  
A moment of silence...

“Right. How about Saw?”

 

* * *

  
Two hours later the credits were rolling.  
  
Loki was curled up on the couch with a blanket draped over his legs. Tony sat on the other end with his legs spread open and a drink in one hand.  
  
The genius looked over and shrugged. “Watcha think about our American cinema?” He asked before he drank the rest of his whiskey.  
  
Loki laughed, “It was amusing; definitely gruesome. I’m amazed that you humans think I’m so evil, and yet you concoct such violent stories.”  
  
Tony pointed at him, “You do know they’re not actually being tortured here, right?”  
  
“I’m aware. But the thought seemed prevalent. Whoever made this,” Loki made a motion with his hand. “Motion picture, obviously has some sort of fetish for torture and viscous murders.”  
  
“Maybe,” Tony looked away and nodded, then looked back. “But I bet they’ve never actually killed anyone.”  
  
Loki scoffed, “Likely.” He stretched his legs out, then placed them on the ground. He crossed his legs soon after and watched the credits scroll up the screen. “It was quite entertaining.”  
  
Tony nodded, “You can watch whatever you want when I’m gone. I’ve got a full library of all the good stuff—some more gory ones too, but that was more Pepper’s thing.”  
  
Loki thought about that for a moment. “Pepper, your assistant?”  
  
“Huh?” Tony thought about the question. “Pepper? Oh, did I mention her? Yeah, my assistant. She’s big into blu-rays. Made me buy a ton, and I’m more of a digital guy, so—never mind. I’m personally a fan of action films. This type of stuff was never my thing.”  
  
“Next time then,” Loki decided.  
  
“Next time?”  
  
“Let’s watch this ‘action’ next time. I wouldn’t mind. I rather like this form of entertainment.” Loki flicked his wrist towards the TV.  
  
“All right, why not? Sure. I’ll let you pick.”  
  
“Sounds like a deal.” It honestly sounded more like a date. Tony couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable the more he let that thought sink in. So he didn’t. Instead, he fully disregarded it.  
  
“You know, it’s weird. You’re kinda normal, when you take away all the evil and the... horns.”  
  
Loki found himself smiling at that. “Yes well, that was the plan.”  
  
“Can’t blame me if I find it hard to believe.” Tony got up and went over to his bar with his empty glass. He grabbed a bottle of Hennessy. He held it up. “Want a drink?”  
  
Loki looked over the bottle, then shrugged. “Why not?”  
  
Tony pulled out another glass and placed it next to his. He expertly poured the liquid as he continued from where he left off. “You know, I really can’t wrap my head around you.” He finished pouring and walked the two glasses over to the couch. He handed one to Loki and sat down with the other.  
  
“What is there to understand that I haven’t already told you?” Loki asked innocently, then took a generous sip of his drink.  
  
Tony gave him a look, “Oh, come on. We both know you’re hiding something.”  
  
Loki smirked and shook his head. “Will you continue to harp over whether I’m lying to you or not until I tell you some insidious plot that, I’m sure, you’ve already been speculating in that overactive brain of yours?”  
  
Tony leaned in, maybe a little closer than he should have, and gave Loki a cocky smile. “Ah, I sense some truth in that statement. Tell me, are you feeling particularly loose-lipped?”  
  
Loki leaned forward, countering Tony’s movement, and bringing their faces incredibly close. Dangerously close. Tony swallowed, but didn’t move away. “Not particularly.” Loki licked his lips. His green eyes peeked down at Tony’s lips, but not for long. They quickly slid back to stare into those calculating, light brown eyes. “Well, not in the way that you’re thinking.”  
  
“You sure about that?” Tony was pretty sure those words came straight from his dick, and not from his very intelligent brain that knew this wasn’t the best idea. Not when just the day before he’d griped to Loki about this same thing. And yet here he was, inches away from Loki’s face, staring at those pale lips with a very dry throat.  
  
“All right F.R.I.D.A.Y. shut it down. I’m beat.” Tony got up way quicker than he’d intended to. The TV was turned off and seconds later began moving down into the floorboard. His skin felt hot while his pants were incredibly tight. He looked down at Loki, who was looking just as disoriented as he was, and spoke without thinking, “You coming?” Loki looked just as shocked to hear those words, as Tony was that he’d said them. “I mean, not like I want you to come. I’m just curious. You usually go to sleep when I do, so, just in case you were coming too. You know what, it doesn’t matter anyway. I’m just gonna go ahead.” He turned after that, mentally cursing as he walked towards the bed.  
  
Loki stayed on the couch for a moment just watching Tony as he got to the bed and began stripping out of his business clothes. He was hard now, and completely frustrated because Tony had made that silly rule. He ran both his hands through his hair and willed his body to calm down.  
  
He didn’t get up until Tony had already slipped into the bed. He quietly walked over and crawled into his usual side to join him under the covers. They went to sleep like that, both feeling a bit uncomfortable for very different reasons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 is here~ Thank you for all the support so far. I'll be updating again soon, so I hope you'll all look forward to it :>


	5. Wavering Doubt

Once Loki had gotten the ability to leave and return to the penthouse with semi-freedom, he spent a lot of time exploring the city he, at one point, had no problem with destroying. It was July, something he hadn’t taken into account until now that he could experience the outdoor weather, and so he felt hot in his hoodie and dark blue jeans.  
  
Halfway through his walk to the museum he would be exploring today, he stopped at a trashcan and tossed the offending piece of clothing, revealing the dark green V-neck T he wore underneath.  
  
In his disguise, his skin had more color in it than usual, his hair was reddish and much shorter, and he’d adorned a bit of facial hair. For the most part he looked the same, but far from recognizable.  
  
During this time that he had alone, he used it to think through his plans. He’d been staying with Anthony Stark for nearly two months now. So far he hadn’t learned much about how Stark’s energy source, and any attempt to talk about his work was likely to arouse suspicion. And then there was another glaring issue that Loki couldn’t easily disregard.  
  
His attraction to the billionaire was growing with each day. Anthony willingly shared his bed, but was strict about the “no touching” rule. Anthony hadn’t tried anything with him either. What was more distressing was that he was currently more concerned about why Anthony wouldn’t have sex with him, and less about obtaining that power he’d originally came for. His priorities were being deftly skewed. It had all started out as a bit of fun, but it was quickly becoming more and more frustrating.  
  
“Hello dear, are you alright?” An elderly woman touched his arm, drawing his attention. He realized he’d been standing by the trashcan, staring at nothing for longer than a normal human would.  
  
He smiled down at her. “I’m quite alright.”  
  
“Good. Would you be a dear and help an old women get to the grocery store?”  
  
Loki stared at her for a moment. “I beg your pardon?”  
  
“The grocery store, dear.” She looked up at him with confused eyes. “You do know where it is, don’t you? I’ve misplaced my glasses so the street signs are a bit hard for me to read.”  
  
Loki thought about this for a moment. “Well, to be honest, I don’t know the way. But if you tell me where to go I can guide you.”  
  
The woman’s face brightened. “Oh, that sounds like a wonderful idea.” She wrapped her frail arm around his. “Okay, what street are we on, dear?”  
  
Loki secured her arm around his and looked up. “We’re on Third Avenue.”  
  
“Then take me to seventh.”  
  
“As you wish,” Loki led the way, only relying on the vague knowledge he had of the streets of New York.  
  
“Where are you from sweetheart?” She asked after they’d walked three blocks.  
  
“Far away,” was his evasive answer.  
  
“Running away from something?”  
  
He whipped his head down to look at her. His eyes widened. For a second he thought she might have been sent for him, but she didn’t react to him. She just continued to walk by his side with a kind smile on her face.  
  
He turned to look straight ahead and cleared his throat before he answered. “You’re quite perceptive.”  
  
She giggled lightly, “You sound like my husband.”  
  
“A lucky man, I’m sure.” He effectively changed the subject.  
  
She nudged him with the arm she kept linked with his. “You’re charming like him too.”  
  
Loki smiled, “We’re at seventh avenue, by the way.”  
  
The old woman looked around for a second, and then pointed to the right. “This way, dear.”  
  
Ten minutes passed with casual conversation flowing easily between the two. It may be because Loki was, in fact, much older than this woman that he didn’t feel underwhelmed by her presence. She spoke slow, but was incredibly articulate. When they’d made it to the market, Loki was almost disappointed that they would part ways here.  
  
“We’re here,” he announced as he unlinked their arms.  
  
“Oh my, that was quick.” She reached out and placed a hand on Loki’s shoulder. “Thank you dear, I enjoyed your company very much.”  
  
Loki smiled down at her. “It’s quite all right. I wasn’t doing much to begin with.”  
  
The older woman looked to be thinking about something then, and Loki tilted his head at her.  
  
“Is something the matter?”  
  
She smiled up at him. “Oh no, I just wondered if you wouldn’t mind sticking with an old woman a bit longer. I’m afraid I might have some trouble getting my bags home.”  
  
Loki shrugged one shoulder, “As I said, I’m not pressed for time.” It was true. He’d only planned to go to a museum because Tony was out on another one of his arbitrary meetings in another state.  
  
So, without further ado, he held out his arm once again. “Shall we,” he nodded towards the entrance. The old woman became elated. She grabbed onto his arm with her aged hand and gave him a full smile.  
  
“You are just as sweet as pie.”  
  
They walked in after that. The old woman pulled out a shopping list from her large purse and held it out for both of them to see.  
  
Five minutes into shopping, they were in the produce section when the old woman spoke up again. “I feel like I’ve been rude to you, dear. I haven’t given you my name.” She smiled at a particularly ripe tomato. “You can call me Frida, dear.”  
  
Loki looked at her for a moment, and then smiled. “Lo-,” he paused, shocked that he’d been about to give up his real name.  
  
“What was that?” She placed the tomato in a bag with three others, then brought it over to where Loki stood by the cart.  
  
“Tom.” He decided to say. She smiled and nodded.  
  
“Well it’s nice to meet you, Tom. You make me wish I had children of my own.”  
  
She walked forward, and Loki followed behind with the cart.  
  
“You never wanted them?” Loki pried and she smiled sadly.  
  
“No, I didn’t. I refused, actually. By the time I realized I wanted them, I could no longer have them.” She shook her head at the thought and smiled boldly, “I was quite a feisty young woman.”  
  
Loki closed his eyes and nodded kindly, “Oh, I can only imagine.”  
  
“Yes, dear, wouldn’t know it now, but I was quite the catch.” She stepped up to the seasonings two aisles down from the produce and sifted through them.  
  
“Were you?” He asked as he watched her move through the different flavors.  
  
“Oh yes. I was five-four, a hundred pounds and had two men after my heart. I chose Cliff though.”  
  
“Your husband?”  
  
“No, no, I married him much later.” She let out a light laugh and so did Loki.  
  
“Oh, I like you,” Loki said with a sly grin.  
  
It wasn’t too long before they were at the check out counter and heading out the door. Loki grabbed the paper back from the clerk and followed Frida out with it.  
  
Frida didn’t live far from the market. Five minutes after leaving they were there. She opened the door to her townhome and he came in after her.  
  
“The kitchen is this way, dear Tom.” She sat her keys on a table near the door and led him down the long hallway. The end of the hall opened up to be the living room, and deeper in through there was the kitchen. He went inside while she sat in front of her fireplace in one of her armchairs. He sat the bag on the counter, then came back out with his hands in his pockets.  
  
“Sit down, dear. I can brew some tea.”  
  
Loki smiled, “Allow me.”  
  
He walked back into the kitchen and searched through the cabinets. He rather enjoyed this woman more than he had expected to. She reminded him of his mother, and maybe because their names were similar, he felt even more attached. She had also been the only non-AI, other than Anthony, to engage him in some sort of conversation since he’d come to Earth.  
  
When he came back into the living room, he brought two cups of steaming tea with him. She accepted her cup with a soft smile. “Thank you, dear.”  
  
“My pleasure.” He sat down in the armchair with his own cup and sipped at it. She only kept Earl Gray, and it didn’t taste too bad.  
  
After a moment of comfortable silence, Frida spoke again. “Tell me Tom, what could a nice man like you be running from?” She sipped at her tea after that.  
  
He offered a light laugh, “This again? And I can assure you nobody has ever referred to me as ‘nice’.”  
  
She smiled and shook her head; “Perhaps they never really knew you then.”  
  
Loki faltered, took a sip at his tea, and then sat it on the coffee table in front of him. “Perhaps.” He finally said.  
  
“A young handsome man like yourself must have a lovely wife to go home to.”  
  
“Not at the moment, no.” Loki looked around after that. A thought dawned on him. “And what of your husband?”  
  
She smiled down at her tea, “Oh, he passed away about four years ago actually.”  
  
Loki’s eyes widened a fraction. “Oh? Is that so?” He crossed his legs. “How did he die? If you don’t mind me asking...”  
  
She shook her head and sat her tea next to his. She got up from her chair, walked up to the fireplace and worked on cooking up a flame. After setting the wood, pouring the lighter fluid and dropping a lit match in, the flame sparked to life.  
  
She walked back to her seat and slowly eased down into it with a light sigh. “Well,” she began, “He was a hard worker. We had asked him to retire years ago, but he was too hard headed.” She reached forward and grabbed her tea. After taking another sip she continued, “Well I’m sure you know about the alien attack that happened around that time.” Loki’s stomach dropped. His inquiring eyes turned dark and solemn. He feared her next words. “My Gerald was heading home when it happened. They discovered his body the next day.” Her hands shook. Loki reached forward and grabbed the tea from her before she spilled it. She smiled at him in thanks. When she did this, she noticed the completely distraught look in his eyes. “Oh my! Please dear; don’t be sad for an old woman like me. I didn’t mean to ruin the mood. I was just rambling.” She shook her head at her self.  
  
“No, I’m sorry. Really.” Had Loki really heard himself then, he would have been shocked. He’d never once apologized so sincerely in his life. And here he was apologizing to a woman he barely knew. He’d killed so many people in his time. He’d even attempted to kill his brother on more than one occasion. Why was he just now feeling so remorseful for some dead man he’d never even met?  
  
“Oh,” Frida huffed. “I’ve spoiled the mood.”  
  
“Nonsense,” Loki smiled. “I feel bad, but it isn’t your fault. Honest.”  
  
Frida gave him a long look, then sighed. “Good.”  
  
Somehow time flew by after that without Loki meaning for it to. Minutes became hours of him listening to Frida tell him exciting stories about her past.  
  
The fire by them was warm and soothing. She’d even offered him a blanket to drape over his arms and legs as he curled up into the couch. He’d grown exhausted in this form, not to mention the constant energy he expelled to the keep him out of Heimdall’s sight. As Frida went on about a trip to Paris back in 1967, he felt himself drift off into sleep.

 

* * *

   
As soon as the doorbell rang Loki’s eyes opened. His body felt unusual and when he looked down at himself curled into the old armchair he realized it was not only the awkward sleeping position, but also because he was still wearing the face of another man.  
  
He dragged himself from the chair and leisurely stretched. Frida had fallen asleep in the other chair with a book in her lap. She must have found her glasses because they were resting on the tip of her nose. He took the cover that was on him and draped it over the woman, then went to the door to answer the fool who’s incessant ringing turned into violent knocks. Did they have any courtesy at all for the elderly?  
  
At the front door, Loki undid the locks and almost ripped it open. “What?” He hissed then stopped when he recognized Tony there, looking both haggard and angry.  
  
Loki poked his head out the door and looked around. No one else was there. He looked back at Tony, who was fuming now.  
  
“Anthony, what are you doing here?”   
  
“Me? What am I doing here? Right. You do know what time it is, don’t you?” Tony looked over Loki’s shoulder, much easier than he would have had Loki been in his normal body.  
  
“I don’t.” Loki answered easily. “Maybe you could enlighten me.”  
  
“Yeah. It’s one AM, jackass. I trusted you. Shit.” Tony turned away, and then quickly turned back with a pointed finger. “I told you our deal was that you had to be back before midnight. I got the alert from F.R.I.D.A.Y. I’m thinking you’re out killing people.”  
  
Loki sighed. He hadn’t necessarily forgotten about that rule, but he did forget about the cellular device in his back pocket that had likely been dead for hours now.  
  
“Well look, Anthony, no dead bodies.” Loki waved his hand in the air. Tony looked over his shoulder again.  
  
“What were you doing in there? Conjuring potions?” He nodded his head up.  
  
Loki crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe. “I was doing no such thing.”  
  
“What then? Because,” Tony laughed incredulously, “There has got to be a good reason for you to be out at this time.”  
  
Loki thought he detected something in his tone that sounded almost possessive. He narrowed his eyes at it, but didn’t speak on it. Instead he debated on whether he should tell Anthony the truth about what he’d been doing all day. In hindsight, it seemed a bit ridiculous to say he’d spent all of those hours keeping an elderly woman company.  
  
“Someone in there?” Tony asked, narrowing his eyes.  
  
“It is not of your concern, is it?”  
  
“It is if they’re lying in there, dead.”  
  
“I can assure you, I’ve done no such thing.” Loki glared, but Tony wasn’t giving up. He also wasn’t patient enough to wait for Loki to tell him what he wanted to know, so he pushed past the shift shaping god and entered the old townhome.  
  
“Uhm, excuse me? Are all parties alive and in one piece?” Tony called out. Loki grabbed his arm to stop him.  
  
“Would you mind keeping your bellowing to a minimum?” Loki hissed in a low voice.  
  
Tony’s eyes narrowed at him. “What are you hiding? You must’ve really done a number on them, huh?”  
  
Loki’s eyes darkened. “You really think so little of me?”  
  
“Have I really been given a reason not to?”  
  
Loki grit his teeth at the words. There was no reason for him to feel so pained by them. But there it was, that dull ache in his heart that he often felt when Odin would remind him of his disgusting true lineage.  
  
Tony huffed and ripped his arm from Loki’s grip. He moved down the hallway, and Loki didn’t try to stop him again. When he got to the living room, he walked over to where the fireplace was lighting up the dark room.  
  
When he walked closer he noticed the old woman sitting there with a book in her lap. He walked up to her slowly; horrified at the idea that Loki may have taken this woman’s life.  
  
But then, once he was nearly hovering over her, she opened her tired eyes and looked up at him. Tony held out his hands as if it would somehow keep him from startling her, but it didn’t do much. She let out a weak scream, then scrambled up as fast as she could from her chair.  
  
“Who are you?” She grabbed around for something, and finally settled on her purse. She held it up as if it were a bat.  
  
“Hey, Lady. Calm down. It’s okay. I was just, well, I’m here because, ah shit.”  
  
Frida readied herself for a swing, when Loki walked into the living room next. She visibly relaxed when her eyes settled on him. “Tom,” she loosened her grip on her purse as he stepped closer.  
  
“Tom?” Tony asked and Loki quickly shot him a glare to shut him up.  
  
“My apologies, Frida, this is my... friend. He came to pick me up. It’s quite late.”  
  
Tony snickered. “Nice voice,” he said under his breath. Loki could feel his temper rising.  
  
“Oh...” she slowly placed her purse back down then smoothed back her curly hair. She turned to address Tony, “I’m so sorry. I thought you were an intruder. Oh... oh my, you’re.” She pointed at Tony, recognition finally settling in. “You’re Tony Stark, aren’t you? Yes, you’ve got that big gaudy Tower don’t you?”  
  
Loki snickered this time.  
  
Tony’s head tipped to the side, “Gaudy?”  
  
“Oh, dear,” she turned and walked up to Loki. “I’m so sorry I kept you here this late. Time just seems to fly by the older I get.”  
  
Frida reached out and grabbed Loki’s hands. As he held her weak hands, he smiled and closed his eyes. “Yes, I do believe I know what you mean.”  
  
“Gaudy? Honestly...” he heard Tony mutter.  
  
“Well, we should be going.” Loki let go of her hands and nodded for Tony to follow him out.  
  
“All right, dear Tom, please feel free to come by at any time. Your friend is welcome too.” She smiled at the both of them.  
  
As they were walking, Tony turned to Frida, “You know, most would say my building is a beacon for...”  
  
“Yes, we know, come on.” Loki interrupted, grabbing onto Tony’s arm and pulling him towards the door. Tony huffed, but didn’t fight the strong grip. She walked them to the door and waved them both off.

 

* * *

  
Tony had driven to Frida’s home in one of his many sports cars. He had been so upset when he’d arrived home from Italy an hour ago to an empty penthouse. There were so many things running through his mind. The first one was that Loki had completely betrayed his trust and ran off to go on a killing spree. The second was that someone had found about Loki’s hideout and had either taken Loki back to Asgard or caused Loki to run away. But in none of the scenarios his brain conjured up, did he think he’d find Loki at some old woman’s home drinking tea.

But, in all honesty, that wasn’t even the worst part. The worst was when he’d found Loki looking sleep tussled in that townhome, he became far more upset when he’d suspected that Loki had been out all night sleeping with some random other person. He’d felt incredibly jealous for a second longer than he felt comfortable with.  

After they’d gotten into the car, Loki didn’t even look at him. Tony realized he must have struck a cord when he’d blown a fuse in the old lady’s home, but he didn’t think he’d get the silent treatment for it. Sure, Loki had been on his best behavior for the past two months, save for this night’s ‘curfew’ break. And, on second though, he couldn’t really call that bad behavior when you consider what he was doing during that time. But, even so, the fact that he was Loki Odinson, God of Destruction among many other things, was a high hurdle to jump over. 

When they got to the Stark Tower, they remained in silence all the way up to the penthouse. Even then, Loki didn’t say anything. He just shifted into his normal self and went over to prepare for bed. 

“Maybe I was a little out of line.” Tony finally said, successfully drawing Loki’s attention just as the god pulled his shirt over his head. Tony walked over to where Loki was standing by the bed. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? I shouldn’t have said the whole, can’t trust you, thing. It was pretty dick-ish.”

“I am reminded everyday that I am not trusted, Anthony.” Loki was hurt, even though he had no real right to be. Tony was right not to trust him. He was in fact deceiving him. It was honestly ludicrous that he would even find it hurtful that Tony, someone of superior intelligence, was questioning his integrity. 

I know. Jesus—y’know, I don’t do this often. The whole, apologizing bit.” 

“I can tell. You’re quite awful at it.” Loki smiled, and worked on pulling off his jeans next. 

Tony smiled back, feeling less anxious now that things felt relatively normal. Or, at least, as normal as it got when it came to their current situation. 

“Didn’t take you for the type to hang around nursing homes.” Tony said as he pulled his tie from around his neck. He was unbuttoning his dress-shirt when he spoke again. “I guess it makes sense. You’re what? Like, a million years old or something?” 

Loki laughed as he pulled back the covers and slid into the bed. He responded shortly after, “I’ve been alive barely over a millennium. I’m still quite young compared to most of Asgard.” 

“Oh yeah I can tell. You look good for you age.” His words had a hidden snarkiness to them. Tony pushed his pants down, and then went over to his closet to pull out a shirt. Once it was on, he walked back crawled into bed beside Loki. 

For some reason Loki wasn’t ready for sleep. Maybe it was all that time he’d spent talking with Frida that compelled him to strike up a new conversation. “Being immortal has its downsides.” 

“Does it?” Tony turned onto his side to face Loki, as Loki was facing him. 

“It can be very lonely. Especially if the people around you see things differently than you do.” Loki looked sad, and it tugged strings Tony was sure he’d cut from his heart a long time ago. 

“How do you see things?” 

Loki looked into Tony’s eyes, seeing something there that he didn’t want to analyze at the moment. All he knew was that it drew him in and he liked it. He liked it so much, that he reached under the covers and grabbed Tony’s hand. He brought the hand up, still under the covers and played with the rough fingers. It helped him think. 

Loki wasn’t looking at him when he started speaking. Tony tried to focus on his words and less of the sensation of Loki’s cold hand tugging, squeezing and intertwining with his. “For example,” Loki continued in a calming voice. “Thor sees things in black and white, right and wrong, light… and dark. We have never seen eye to eye for that very reason, he and I,” Loki’s grip on Tony’s hand tightened for a second, before he went back to casually massaging it. “I see every color, every possibility, and I explore them. I know the difference between right and wrong, but I also know that the only way you can truly know if something is wrong, is if you experience its consequences first hand.”  

When Loki had finished his explanation he finally looked into Tony’s eyes. They had been closely studying Loki’s face that entire time. He may have been searching for a lie in his words, or perhaps he was mesmerized by how beautiful Loki looked as those words left his lips. There was no way to really tell. 

Loki was surprised when Tony didn’t immediately have anything to say. Another thought crossed Loki’s mind, “Why didn’t you contact your group of heroes when you noticed I wasn’t here?”  

Tony hadn’t expected that question. He hadn’t really thought about it. At the time he had been so angry and hurt, yet at the same time a part of him wasn’t willing to believe Loki had actually betrayed his trust. 

After a moment he said in a soft voice, “I really want to trust you.” Tony realized then that he had a knack for saying things more honestly than he should around Loki, and it seemed to catch the Asgardian off guard. 

“What have you have left to fear?” Loki stopped his movements with Tony’s hand. 

Tony licked his lips and scooted closer, his body close enough to Loki’s now to almost press them together. 

“Look, you’re always going to be the guy who showed up four years ago trying to take over the world. But I’m—I don’t know. I guess I’m trying to see things the way you do. And this... _you_ , what you’re doing now—I mean, it’s so ridiculously different from that evil guy with death horns that came in all power hungry.” 

Loki chuckled, “I’m not so sure if this is a compliment or an insult.” 

“Neither,” he said seriously, then sighed. “I want to believe that this Loki,” he pressed his free hand’s finger to Loki’s chest. “—Isn’t the same Loki that I met four years ago.”  

“And if I’m not?” 

“Not what? The same? If you’re different?” Loki slowly nodded, and Tony reached out to rub his thumb over Loki’s cheek. The next words came out in a whisper, “Then I’m interested.” 

Loki knew he was referring to a conversation they had not too long ago. He inched closer, and finally their bodies touched. 

Tony was the one who fully closed the distance between them. He moved the hand on Loki’s face to the back of his head, lacing his fingers with the thick, silky black curls. One second they were staring into each other’s eyes, the next their lips were melded together in a slow, passionate kiss.  

Tony rolled them over so that he was hovering over Loki, but their lips never disconnected. Loki’s legs bent at the knees, and they almost wrapped around his waist, but stopped halfway. They, instead, kept Tony in place. When Tony moved from the pink lips to bite down on a particularly delicious section of Loki’s neck, he hissed. 

Loki’s cool hands ran up Tony’s sides, underneath his shirt. It made Tony twitch at the icy/hot feeling it gave him. 

He ran his hands up his sides, pulling the shirt up with it until Tony was forced to detach himself from Loki and take it off. And when he did, Loki stared up at Tony’s deliciously sculpted body. He wasn’t too muscular, but was toned enough to see the etchings of muscles underneath his warm skin. 

His eyes greedily took in every detail, while his hands rubbed up the expansion of flesh until the tips of his fingers touched onto the rim of the arm reactor. Loki’s eyes stared at it, then when up to meet Tony’s, clouded with a mixture of fear and arousal. As Loki caressed the soft blue light, he could feel Tony’s heart rate speeding up.  

Tony spoke for the first time since they’d started, “Don’t get any ideas.” 

“Oh,” Loki purred, moving his hands up from the device to Tony’s broad shoulders. “I have many ideas, Anthony.” He slid his hands further up and around Tony’s shoulders. That was the only cue Tony needed to dive back in and capture Loki’s parted lips. 

When he’d bit down hard on Loki’s bottom lip, he heard a low groan and hiss, followed by an almost violent jerk of his hips. It brought their erections together in a way that had both of them rolling their eyes to the backs of their heads. 

Loki reached down after that, frustrated with the bits of fabric that separated them. He pushed Tony off, releasing the kiss with a wet smack, and drawing out a small whine from the inventors pouring lips. Loki grinned up at him. With no warning, he fisted Tony’s boxers and ripped them from his body. 

“Jesus!” Tony’s muscles clenched, but he didn’t move away. “You could’ve...” he swallowed his own words when Loki did the same to himself, ripping away his boxers then laying back on the bed with this sinister look that was starting to drive Tony up the wall. 

“I’ve never been very patient,” was all he said before he reached up and grabbed the back of Tony’s neck, then pulled him down for another rough kiss. 

Tony groaned. The sensation of having Loki thrusting up against him was enough to make his body tingle. But it wasn’t enough to completely sate him. He reached down and grabbed Loki in a tight grip, and pumped him with hard, quick strokes. Loki arched his back at the feeling, breaking their kiss, and let out a cry in a language that Tony had never heard. 

Tony licked his lips, and leaned back to admire the view. He continued to pump Loki, and relished in the way the god’s sinewy body writhed beneath him, shaking and becoming coated with a sheen of sweat.  

Loki rocked his hips, urging Tony to pump him faster. He reached his own hand down and grabbed Tony by the balls, rolling then around his hand in a way that caused Tony to falter in his own movements.  

“Shit.” Tony said through an exhale of breath. 

Loki grinned up at him and spoke in a tone filled with lust, “Anthony, ah...” Loki turned his head for a moment, thrown by the pleasure in between his legs. He turned back to face Tony, and the next words that came out of his mouth made Tony was to cum right then and here. “Fuck me.”  

Tony stopped moving for a second, suddenly disoriented. Loki had almost feared Tony would back off now; maybe he’d gone too far. But it was made obvious seconds later that his words had the opposite effect.  

Tony had lost his mind in that moment. He couldn’t think of anything other than burying himself deep inside of Loki, even if it was the last thing he did on this Earth. Because, God knows, it might just be. He was playing with fire, he always had been, but now they were at a point where they couldn’t turn back. So, he made up his mind.

He pulled away from Loki and reached over his head to the nightstand where he mostly just kept lube and condoms. He grabbed one of each. 

When he put the wrapper of the condom to his mouth, Loki narrowed his eyes questioningly at it. “What on Earth is that?” 

Tony paused, midway through ripping it open. He pulled it from his mouth to talk. “What? This? It’s a condom.” He answered simply, only to receive a blank face from the god beneath him. “Uh, contraceptive? Prophylactic? Sheath? Rubber? Not ringing any bells?” 

“What is it for?” 

Tony finished ripping the wrapper open and pulled out said rubber. Loki watched carefully as he slipped it on.  

Tony shrugged, popping open the lube next as he answered, “They can be used for a lot of things: birth control, infections and all that. But for you, I mean, you’re sort of an alien and all.” 

Loki smirked and tilted his head, still watching hungrily as Tony coated himself with the slick lubricant. “Right. You humans are quite strange.” 

Tony bit his lip, pumping his arousal a few times to make sure he was fully covered. “You know,” he leaned forward, and lifted one of Loki’s legs, pulling it around his hips so that he could fit snugly in between the god’s legs. He continued, “When you say it like that, you really do sound like an alien.”  

Loki made a noise that was partly a chuckle and partly a moan when he felt Tony’s teeth graze the skin of his neck. Tony used one hand to prop himself above Loki, while the other reached down and pressed against Loki’s entrance. 

Loki shook his head, “Just do it.”  

Tony blinked at the sudden statement. “What?”  

Loki reached down and Tony hissed when he felt a slender hand grab his dick. He allowed Loki to position him, and moved the hand that he’d intended to use for preparation.  

Tony’s eyebrows furrowed. “You sure?” He asked, even if the head of his cock was pressed against Loki’s entrance and it was making him twitch with need and desire to shove right into that welcoming heat. 

Loki licked his lips, and then nodded. “You will not break me, Anthony.”  

That was all he’d needed to say. 

Tony grabbed and guided himself in with relative ease. The further he slid in, the more Loki arched his back, encouraging him to dive deeper. Tony braced himself, placing both hands beside Loki’s head as he continued to press on until he was all the way in.  

Loki growled at the intense pleasure. Once he could feel all of Tony, he wrapped his legs around his waist and urged him to move. So Tony did. 

“Ah! Fuck, Anthony! Shit!” Tony moved fast and hit hard. He drove in each time with a powerful thrust, making sure Loki felt every inch of him. Tony didn’t think he’d ever heard Loki curse so much, and it only fueled his desire to elicit every dirty word he could from the God of Mischief.  

“Oh God,” Tony’s eyes rolled to the back of his head. He was starting to feel dizzy. “Christ, this feels...” he couldn’t put it into words. His whole body was vibrating with an intense sensation. Loki was cold on the outside, but inside he was smoldering hot and so fucking tight.  

The sounds Loki made when he felt Tony thrust into him especially hard was sure to drive the inventor insane.  

He was breathing hard now. The god hadn’t been kidding when he said he wouldn’t break. Tony almost feared he’d be the one to crumble and fall apart. His arms were starting to shake. It felt like he was going into full-blown sensory overload. 

Loki seemed to notice, and pushed Tony, making sure not to break their connection, until Tony was on his back and Loki was riding him on top. Tony wasn’t sure if this made things better or worse. 

On the one hand, he could see fucking stars from the feeling of Loki moving on top of him, but on the other, he thought his mind may become further lost with this increase in pleasure. 

It wouldn’t be long before Tony released himself. He craved it, and yet, he wanted this feeling to go on forever. And God, Loki looked beautiful. He’d thought so on other occasions, but right now, while he looking down at Tony with those bright green eyes, biting his lip, moaning, moving up and down and... 

“Ohhhh God, Loki, wait...” he was about to cum, and Loki wasn’t letting up. “Wait, seriously. Loki... shit.” He grabbed onto Loki’s hips and felt himself subconsciously thrusting in time with the movements. 

“I would think... you’d dislike it... if I stopped,” Loki said between heavy breaths and moans. 

His grip tightened on Loki’s hips. He was almost there. Just a few more pumps and he’d— “Fuck!” Tony shouted when his orgasm ripped through him.  

“Aah... Anthony...” Loki threw his head back and released himself soon after onto Tony’s chest.  

They rode out their orgasms together. Loki leaned down and captured Tony’s lips in a slow, wet kiss. They breathed into each other, both trying to calm while relishing in the afterglow of mind-blowing sex.  

When they pulled apart, Loki lifted up until Tony’s half-hard self, slid from inside of him. He rolled over onto his back and mimicked Tony by staring up at the ceiling.  

After a moment of silence between them, Tony looked over at him and smirked, “Pretty spry for an older fella, aren’t you?” 

Loki laughed breathlessly at the unexpected joke, and then shook his head. “I’d like to think I gave you a run for your money.” Loki looked at him then with a sneaky grin that Tony was starting to think was sexier than it should’ve been. 

“Oh yeah? I think I can do better next time.” 

“Oh I’m sure I’ll find out soon.” Loki purred and it sent a shock of electricity to Tony’s groin. 

“How about now?” 

“I thought you’d never ask.” 

 

* * *

 

They ended up doing it three times after that. Loki seemed to never let up, and Tony was more than happy to oblige. 

By the time the sun came up, Tony and Loki had finally fallen asleep. Their limbs were tangled together, while only the their legs were covered by the messy sheets, now dirtied by both of their fluids. 

At eleven AM his alarm went off, and Tony’s eyes were reddened slits when he opened them. 

“Shut it down, would you?” He said sleepily, and F.R.I.D.A.Y. promptly shut the alarm off. 

Two hours later he woke up to the feeling of something wet on his neck followed by the pinching feeling of teeth against his skin. 

When he opened his eyes he was facing his wall. Behind him, Loki had his front pressed against his back and an arm snaked around his waist. Tony hummed at the feeling of Loki’s hand rubbing up his stomach, and down to his hips, only slightly grazing over his morning wood.  

Loki’s was no less prominent, and was being shamefully ground against Tony’s ass. 

Tony moaned and hissed at the way Loki moved his hips. 

Now that Loki could see that Tony was fully awake, he slid his hand down Tony’s stomach once more, but this time, stopping and grabbing his shaft. 

“Jesus...” Tony closed his eyes while Loki slowly pumped him in a tight fist. “Do you ever get tired?” 

Loki chuckled darkly, still sucking and biting on Tony’s neck as if it were breakfast. He didn’t respond right away, and instead, proceeded to thrust himself against Tony’s ass even harder. This time the tip of his cock grazed Tony’s entrance. If Tony could see Loki’s face, he might have been frightened by the dark look in his eyes as he spoke, “I would have you, next.” 

Tony shuddered, unable to protest. Though if he’d wanted to, F.R.I.D.A.Y. didn’t even give him the chance. 

Her voice cut the mood in half. “Boss, you’ve got an incoming call from Director Fury.”

They both paused. 

"Uh... kind of in the middle of something...” 

“He says it’s urgent.” 

“Send him an apology and a gift basket.” 

“He’s insisting.” 

Tony ran a hand through his head and groaned. Sitting up, he looked down at Loki, who was looking less than pleased by the interruption. 

He held out a finger. “Hold that thought.” Then he looked up. “Okay, put him through.”  

“Stark!” Fury’s voice cut in, not even a second later, “Where the hell are you?”  

“Uh, in my bed, any reason you wanna know?” 

“Well we need you to put your dick away and get down here.” 

“Any particular REASON?” Tony jumped when he felt Loki’s mouth swallow his dick in one go. 

He looked down with wide eyes at Loki, who had maneuvered his body between Tony’s legs and was deep throating him before he’d realized it. He rolled his eyes to the back of his head. He’d barely heard Fury say something. 

Loki tightened the muscles in his mouth while he bobbed his head in a slow rhythm. After a few more sucks, he stopped at the tip and pressed his tongue against the slit. “Fuuuuuaaaa—what? Sorry, say that again?” Tony leaned back, rubbing his face in an attempt to keep his shit together. 

There was a pause before Fury spoke again. “What the hell is wrong with you? I know you’re not doing what I think you’re doing.” 

“Not likely.” Tony said, and hissed when Loki dipped his head, swallowing him once again. “Shit.” He whispered and sent Loki a halfhearted glare. Loki’s eyes met his, and they sparkled with a devious kind of mirth. _Bastard_.  

“You disgust me Stark, you know that? Just get down here.” 

The call ended, and Tony fully let himself enjoy the attention Loki’s was providing him. 

It didn’t take long for him reach his release. He shuddered as Loki gladly swallowed all of him. 

“Christ, Loki. Maybe a little more restraint.” Tony sat up straight again. Loki lifted himself so that his face was level with Tony’s. He licked his lips and wiped them with the back of his hand, while Tony gave him an incredulous look. 

Loki leaned forward and nipped at Tony’s chin. “But Anthony, weren’t you enjoying yourself?” 

Tony chuckled at that, “Not the point.” 

“Mmmh, I’m sure.” Loki reached down between Tony’s legs, but was cut short. 

“Hold on there, Speedy. We’ve been going at it for a while, and I should probably hop in the shower. Plus, Fury sounded like he was trying to find ways to strangle me over the phone.” 

Loki sat back and watched Tony get up and walk over to his bathroom. With a sigh, Loki spoke with a reluctant tone, “I suppose I can wait. I’m sure you need more time than I to regain your strength.”  

Tony turned, walking backwards and pointing at Loki as he spoke, “You’re gonna pay for that later.” He said, then turned back and entered the bathroom. 

Loki grinned, “I am most looking forward to it.” 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Everyone! Happy July!! 
> 
> Thank you all for reading this far! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter~ And I'm really excited to see how you all react. 
> 
> Anyway, I should be posting a new chapter next week! 
> 
> Until then~


	6. Five Months

Tony got to the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters in record speed after he’d showered and changed. 

As soon as he got to the meeting room, everyone’s head turned to him. 

“Yeah, I know. I’m late. Big surprise, right?” Tony said with a wide grin as he walked over to take a seat at the table. It was the normal crowd: Clint, Natasha, Steve, Rhodey, Sam and Thor. He assumed Banner was hiding out somewhere. He looked everyone over. “What? Tough crowd? I get it, it’s early.” 

“Stop joking around, jackass, we’ve got that update you asked for,” Fury said, walking up to the table and glaring daggers at Tony. 

Tony blinked at that, “Update?” 

“My brother Loki,” Thor cut in. “Heimdall detected a surge of energy from him last night. It was faint, but he is certain.” 

“A surge of energy?” Tony wondered at what point during their strenuous grappling did it happen. 

“It was the same as last time. We could not pin point his exact location, but we know now that he is here, in your New York.” Thor finished and everyone seemed to find the news a bit daunting. All, except Tony, whose mind continued to wander to more dangerous thoughts.  

“What is he doing, then? Nothing’s happened, right? The only thing I can think of is the attack in Boise, but that was way too weak to be Loki’s.” Clint deducted. 

Steve added in, “He’s laying low. What bothers me the most is that he was off our radar for two months; why now?” 

“He’s using his magic to keep himself hidden,” Thor looked to their Captain as he spoke. “It’s far more likely that his strength to uphold that magic wavers at times, rather than him purposely revealing himself.” 

“Nice deduction Point Break,” Tony swiveled so that he could face the Thunder God. Even if it was a bit awkward now that he’d had sex with his brother four times in the last twelve hours, he didn’t let it show. “What exactly could cause that?”  

“For his barrier to weaken? I could think of a few things.”

“Just name a few.” All eyes were on Tony again. He looked around the room and held out his hands defensively. “What? If we can figure out his actions then we can get a better idea of what he’s doing and where. Which could be useful if his energy pops up in your boy, Hamlet’s all-seeing eyes again.” 

“Heimdall,” Thor corrected. 

“Right.” Tony smiled cheekily. 

“Tony’s right,” Steve interjected. “We can figure out his movements, establish a pattern, and track him down the old fashioned way.” 

“Someone’s getting it! Get this man a trophy. Now,” Tony clapped, then turned to Thor, “What are you thinking, He-Man?” 

Thor glared at the nickname, but held back his response. He instead focused on the question at hand. “There are two things that come to mind. He could have used too much of his power. If he does then it overrides the barrier. In order to stay successfully hidden, he must stick to simple tricks and light magic. The more power he draws, the bigger the signal it sends.” 

Well he already knew that. Tony had to keep himself from saying his gut response: _‘Tell me something I don’t know.’_

Thor went on. “The other is that he may have become weakened; hurt. Or that he’s exhausted his body.” 

The room fell silent. Tony felt his face warm up. “Exhausted his what?” 

Thor scrunched his eyebrows, confused at Tony’s reaction. “Do you not get to the point of exhaustion, that your body gives up before your mind?”

“Oh. Yeah, yes. I get it.” Tony nodded quickly. Thor was still looking confused. 

“Metal Man, your face has grown quite flushed. Are you alright?”

“Yep! Totally fine. Awesome, actually.” 

“Don’t worry, big guy, it’s not you. Tony has his mind in the gutter. He’s probably thinking of whoever gave him those decorative hickeys.” Natasha said, smiling smugly when Tony turned and glared at her.  

“I’m sorry, who invited you into my private life?” 

Clint sighed and said under his breath, “I was really trying to ignore them.” 

“It’s just a couple,” Tony reasoned, though he didn’t think he should have to.  

“It’s an obnoxious amount.” Fury said, not bothering to hide the disgust in his voice. 

“Again, private sex life...” Tony would’ve told them to back off, but he didn’t get the chance.  

“Sex!” Thor said in a thunderously loud voice. It wasn’t meant to startle anyone, but it effectively silenced the room. Thor looked around, feeling awkward now that everyone was looking at him. He shrugged, “That’s also a possibility.” 

 

* * *

 

An hour later Tony walked out of the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters and headed back to the penthouse. As humorous as it was that Loki had slipped with his magic because he had exhausted himself having sex with Tony, it was also something they had to keep in mind moving forward. 

Even if, Tony was still trying to figure out where, exactly, this thing between him and Loki was going. 

At the Tower, he went up to the Penthouse. When the elevator doors opened, someone he wasn’t expecting greeted him. 

“Potts!” Tony called as he stepped out. Pepper was standing with her back turned, and when she heard his voice she jumped.  

She turned to her boss and smiled. “Tony. Hey, sorry. I didn’t hear anything from you since your trip to Nepal.” 

Tony listened, but his eyes roamed around the penthouse, searching for a particular black haired god who appeared to be missing. 

“Yeah, super busy. Say, you been here long? Was there anyone here when you came in?” 

Pepper crossed her arms. “No, and I just got here, like, two seconds before you did.” She was glaring at him now. 

He pointed his index finger at her “What? Why the evil eyes?”

She sighed, “We need to talk, Tony.” 

Tony made his way to his bar. “About what? I made all my meetings this week, so I don’t think I deserve a lecture.” He went around and pulled out a glass. He held an empty one up at her. “Want one?” 

“It’s only four in the afternoon.” 

Tony shrugged, “Suit yourself.” He poured himself a glass of bourbon, and took a sip. His eyes  

“Tony,” she walked over and stood in front of the bar. “I think we should talk about us. About what happened in February… I—.” 

“I’m sorry, but what exactly are you referring to? The proposal that you called ‘half-baked’ or the fact that you said no?” Tony tried to keep the bitterness out of his tone. He thought he was over this. Or at least, he thought he was over the rejection.  

“Don’t do that.” She glared, “You know why I didn’t say yes, but you should also know that I wanted to. And, I’m not...” She shook her head, putting her thoughts in order before she said something she didn’t mean. “I’m just worried about you, Tony. You’ve been acting strange these past couple months.”  

“And you’re certain it’s because of you?”  

Pepper fumed at that, but she didn’t let her temper get the best of her. “No, I’m not saying that. More like, I haven’t been around much and I’m wondering if you’re capable of keeping yourself together.” 

“I’m a grown man, Pep. I can take care of myself.” Tony swallowed the rest of his drink and then poured himself another. “You sure you don’t want one? It’s really hitting the spot.” He motioned the bottle toward her and she frowned. 

“I’m just worried,” she continued. “But you’re right. You’re an adult and even if you act like a ten year old boy, I have to accept that you’re the smartest man I’ll ever know.” 

“Thank you,” he said smugly, ignoring the insult buried within her words.

The tension in the air dissipated. They smiled and soon both laughed at nothing in particular.  

Tony shook his head and stared into his drink. He idly wondered what Loki was up to.  

“Anyway, who’s the mystery lady?” 

Tony looked up then. “What do you mean?” 

Pepper rolled her eyes up, a small smile playing at her lips. “Don’t lie to me, Anthony. Happy told me that every time he’s been here lately he’s seen the same girl.”  

“I’m sorry. Back up. When did you and Happy become friends?” 

Pepper’s smile widened, “Since I’ve known him almost as long as I’ve known you. And don’t try to change the subject. Who is this girl?” 

Tony sipped at his drink, while his eyebrows lifted in amusement. He swallowed, and then placed his drink down before he spoke, “Lady Olympia.” 

Pepper’s mouth and eyes widened. “You’re kidding. You’re _actually_ seeing her?” 

Tony shrugged, “Well. Not exactly.” 

Pepper’s phone went off then. She lifted to her ear, “Yes? Oh. Okay, yeah. That’s no problem. I’ll be there noon tomorrow.” 

Tony watched her as he finished his second drink. She hung up soon after. 

“Gotta get ready for another meeting with Senator Rose. You did patch things up after you totally skipped out on him, right?” She walked towards the elevator and Tony followed. 

“Yeah. Hooked him up with a couple new suits, a lady or two, a little cocaine and,” he grinned at her glare. “I’m kidding. I spoke to him.” 

She shook her head at him and turned to the elevator. “You’re ridiculous.” 

“I know.” Tony rolled his eyes playfully as if it were obvious. 

She stepped inside once the doors opened and turned to face her boss. “Oh and Tony, can you please cover up all those hickeys. It’s obnoxious.” The doors closed after that, and Tony couldn’t help, but laugh. 

 

* * *

 

Loki stood in front of the old townhouse for a full minute before he decided to knock. Humans of old age often didn’t have the best memories, so he hoped he didn’t come in vain. 

Seconds later the door opened and Frida looked up at him in a mixture of shock and happiness. “Oh Tom, it’s nice to see you again. Such a lovely young man, coming to see an old woman like me.” She turned and led him inside. 

“Forgive me, I realize I was just here yesterday.” 

She swatted away his words. “Nonsense, dear. You’re welcome here any day. I’ll get you some tea.” 

“Shall I?” Loki asked, closing the door behind him and walked up to meet Frida with a charming smile. 

“That would be wonderful.” 

Five minutes later they sat in front of the fireplace sipping at their tea. 

“You must not have much to do if you’ve come to spend time with me again so soon.” Frida pointed out, and Loki breathed out a short laugh. 

“Yes well, I don’t have many friends.”  

“What about that handsome young man, Tony Stark. He seems like he’d be an exciting friend to have.” 

Loki nodded, smiling now at the thought of his last night’s bed companion, “Exciting indeed, but he’s a busy man. I can’t go everywhere he goes.” 

“Why’s that, dear?”  

Loki thought about how he should answer this. “His friends; they aren’t particularly fond of me.” 

Frida made a face at that and Loki chuckled. 

“As I said before, not many people find me as charming as you do.” 

“Then they’re missing out.” 

 

* * *

 

Loki spent hours with Frida once again, but was mindful of the time. He left once it hit ten PM and made his way back to the Stark Tower.  

When he got to the top floor he spotted Tony sitting with a mess of metals, wires and tools splayed out on the table in front of him. The beat from the unbearably loud music was nearly shaking the penthouse.

Loki shifted to his normal self before he walked over to join the inventor.  

Tony looked up and spotted him approaching, then looked back down at the machine he was tinkering with. “F.R.I.D.A.Y. bring it down to five percent.” 

The music eased to a reasonably volume.  

Tony asked without looking up, “Hanging out with your lady friend?” 

“I was.” Loki said as he sat close enough to Tony for their legs to touch. 

“Mh,” Tony nodded. 

“What is that?” Loki nodded down at what looked like the beginnings of a little robot.

Tony looked up again, “What? Oh, this?” He looked back down and continued his work on attaching the proper wires. “New little guy I’m building for the shop downstairs. Just something to pass the time.” 

“Shop?”

“Hm? Yeah, shop. My workshop. It’s where I keep all my toys.” He grinned up at Loki, then tilted his head from side to side, “Well not _all_ , but my personal toys.”  

Loki grinned, “Kinky.” 

Tony scoffed, “Pervert.” 

A moment of silence passed between them. The metal music filled the room instead. It wasn’t until Tony finished screwing on a little arm that Loki spoke up again, “When will I be able to see this workshop?” 

Tony froze, and then looked up. His eyes looked to the side for a moment, as if he was weighing out his response, then they moved back to Loki. “When I’m sure you won’t use what’s in there to take over the world.” He said the words slowly, cautiously. 

Loki deflated and looked away; his shoulders sagged as the weight of those words hit him. Instead of coming up with an argument he simply nodded and said, “Right.” 

Tony rolled his eyes at Loki’s dejected response and placed his tools aside. He turned to Loki after that and stared at him until their eyes met once again. “Hey, look. I know. Same shit, right? And yeah, even though we did  _a lot_ last night, I’m not going to lie and say I’m...” 

“Convinced?” Loki offered and Tony sighed. 

“Well...yeah.” 

Loki nodded. He felt something tugging at his heart. It irritated him to no end. Why was he so affected by these words? This was a game to begin with. Why did it feel like he was losing, even though everything was going exactly according to plan? 

 

* * *

 

After their conversation, Tony lifted the mood by picking up where they’d left off that morning. He made sure to mention the meeting he’d had with S.H.I.E.L.D. and that Loki had to be careful about overexerting himself too much. That led to a bunch of old man jokes, and that turned into Loki showing Tony just how energetic he was for his age. 

Tony didn’t know what label to put to this relationship he had with Loki, but it was the last thing on his mind whenever he was with the trickster god. Whenever Tony wasn’t out on some business trip, or fighting intergalactic villains, he would spend every moment he could with Loki: screwing on some piece of furniture he didn’t even know he owned or doing something as inane as watching a movie or finding new music for Loki to listen to while he was away.  

It was odd how easily they fell into conversations about technology or science. Loki had an interesting point of view on both, and Tony was extremely interested in learning about the type of machines they had on Asgard. 

Some nights they’d spend in bed, naked after a session, talking about what their childhoods had been like. Both strayed away from the bad and tried to focus on the good. But when the bad did come up, usually as a slip up, the other would just listen quietly; neither was overly fond of codling or giving out pity reassurances. 

Months had passed like a dream. It was a little sickening to think that they’d been in some sort of twisted honeymoon phase, even if Tony would refuse to ever call it that.

It was the middle of September and Tony didn’t have any meetings that he couldn’t blow off. That afternoon they were sitting on the couch and Loki was holding Tony’s shoulders and thrusting up into him. They’d somehow managed to continue sucking on each other’s lips while Loki pushed into him with a force that had taken Tony a while to get used to. When Loki finished, he bit down on Tony’s lip so hard that he drew out blood. Tony hissed, but came while Loki was thrusting out his orgasm.

After a moment to breathe, Tony lifted off Loki’s lap and collapsed beside him. His hair felt sweaty against his face, so he pushed it back. Loki was grinning wolfishly at him, and it made Tony want to lean forward and kiss those damnable lips again.

But, he winced when he remembered the sharp pain in his lip. He dabbed the spot and felt the warm liquid there. 

“You know, if you were into cannibalism, you could have told me.” Tony remarked while sucking his lip into his mouth to stop the bleeding. The action drew Loki’s attention, and Tony tried not to focus on the way Loki licked his lips at him.

“Is it really considered cannibalism if I eat a human?” Loki joked back, though still looked breathless and completely scandalous with the way he sat with his legs spread open, half hard and openly nude. He didn’t even bother to clean himself off and _God_ Tony was already feeling it again. 

Tony cleared his throat and got up. “That’s not funny,” he pointed and Loki’s smile widened. His boxers were on the cushion next to Loki, so he grabbed them and slipped them on. 

“Heading to another one of your meetings?” Loki asked, idly and sounding like he really didn’t care what Tony’s answer was.

“Not this time,” he answered, and Loki shrugged. Tony looked him over and after only a second to think it over he blurted out, “Let’s go somewhere.”

 

* * *

 

An hour later they were showered and changed. Loki was looking like Tom as they walked through central park. Tony snacked on a hot dog, while Loki sipped on a cola through a straw.

That day was warm for September in New York. The sun drew people out of their homes, and made the park too crowded to sit on one of the benches. Neither seemed to care while Tony rambled on about whatever came to mind and Loki listened with some form of interest.

“So… no to sky diving?” Tony looked at him and took a large bite, barely catching the bit of ketchup that slipped down his chin. Loki only looked a little disgusted. 

“Why in all the realms would I want to fall from the sky for fun? I’ve fallen from higher places many times in my life. None of them have been fun.” Loki shook his head, shuddering at the memory of his fall from the Bifrost.

Tony shoved the rest of the hotdog in his mouth and wiped his hands on a small napkin while he replied, “Yeah, but it’s a controlled activity. Most people would say it’s the biggest rush you can get.” He passed a trashcan and tossed the napkin.

“Don’t you have a flying suit?” Loki held out his drink, because he knew Tony would ask.

Tony grabbed it and took a long swig. He spoke as he handed it back, “Not the point. I happen to enjoy sky diving.” He shrugged, “Especially now that I know I won’t plunge to my death if the shoot fails.”

Loki laughed a little and shook his head, “Isn’t the rush knowing that you might fall to your death?” 

Tony snorted out a laugh of his own, “Yeah, but that is historically the most uncool way to kill off a superhero.” He pointed out and Loki held his hands up as if he didn’t get it. 

“Excuse me!” A voice called out to them that slowed their steady pace. They looked over to see that they’d been passing a booth where a man sat with sketches displayed around his table. He beckoned them over. Tony and Loki exchanged a look before walking up to the man. He was wearing beanie and looking overly artistic. Tony eyed the sketches while the man spoke, “Would you two like a drawing? I could make one of you two together?”

Tony’s eyebrow rose and a childish giddiness made him bounce and look to Loki, who made a face and shook his head.

“No.”

Tony deflated, “Why not?”

“Because these drawings are horrendous.” Loki said, maybe a little too bluntly. The artist cringed, but didn’t argue. Tony bit his lip to keep from laughing.

But, because he was Tony, and would do what he wanted anyway, he turned to the artist, pulled out a loose hundred from his back pocket. “Make us look good, will ya?” He handed over the money and the man’s eyes brightened.

“Of course!” He said, even though it was clear that Loki’s comment took away a good bit of his courage.

Loki sighed and rolled his eyes, but stood beside Tony as the mediocre artist pulled out a blank sheet of paper.

 

* * *

 

They walked away from the booth minutes later. Tony was holding the drawing up and laughing hard at it. The artist took Loki’s comment a little too personally.

“This is a disgrace,” Loki said, his eyes narrowed at the drawing and his voice full of distaste. “That looks nothing like me.”

Tony laughed harder, because really, it looked nothing like him… or rather, Tom. But even if Loki wasn’t really Loki at the moment, the drawing of him was more like a gremlin that anything else. And while the drawing of Tony wasn’t perfect, it was close enough that it wasn’t insulting.

“You shouldn’t have said that out loud,” Tony said through his laughter and Loki made a face that almost looked like he was pouting.

“What? That he was a poor artist? It was the truth, and this is proof of that.”

“Hey cheer up,” Tony cooed, rolling up the drawing and placing it under one arm so that he could use one hand to stroke Loki’s back. “I’m sure he just got you at a bad angle,” he tried not to laugh again when Loki glared at him.

“You’re not funny.” Loki grumbled and Tony did laugh then. Loki looked away and shook his head, then muttered something about stupid mortals.

 

* * *

 

After a while it’d stopped being so strange that Loki was living with him with no real indication of wanting the leave. He’d never set off any real alerts and so Tony was almost willing to completely remove all precautionary measures, but as “perfect” as things felt, it was hard to get past the reality of their situation. And yet, Tony did his best not to think about the potential shit storm this whole thing could turn into, because Loki had this way about looking at him, and giving a rare genuine smile that made him think that maybe he wasn’t the evil villain they’d all built him up to be.

It was November when Tony made a suggestion that left him with Loki glaring at him with his arms crossed tightly over his chest. 

“Absolutely not.”

Tony’s shoulders sagged, “How long do you plan on hiding here?” He’d thought this through for a long time. If whatever relationship they had was going to work, Loki had to come out of hiding.

“Would you like me to leave?” Loki’s glare hardened, and his shoulders bunched as if he were going to attack. Tony tried to reason with himself that Loki wouldn’t go that far.

“No!” Tony said, maybe a little too quickly.

Loki relaxed a bit, but not enough to look much less threatening.

“I will not hand my head over to my father.”

“I’m not asking you to.”

“You are.” 

Tony sighed, thinking over the different arguments he could make and settling on one, “You’ve been here for months. Do you really think they’ll execute you when the most you’ve done is hang out with an old lady and bang me?”

Loki rolled his eyes, mostly because he couldn’t come up with a good argument.

He wished Tony would just stop talking about all of this, because it reminded Loki that he was deep in his own lie. There were never plans to execute him and if he were to be confronted by Thor, Tony would learn that soon enough. Not to mention the whole reason for coming here, for being with him…

It made Loki’s skin hot to think about and his stomach ill. This was the point where his own lie had tripped him up, a rare occurrence for the Liesmith. And here he was, angry with himself, and projecting it onto Tony for what he hoped would simply spell his reluctance and not that he was actually terrified of losing this. Whatever _this_ was.

“Loki,” Tony said softly, and Loki had to turn away so that his eyes would betray him and reveal his guilt. “Loki,” he said again, and moved to sit next to Loki on the couch. “Babe.” 

“What?” Loki snapped, final turning to glare at Tony again.

Tony breathed out a heavy breath while his lips formed a small smile. “Isn’t what we’re doing... important to you?”

Loki’s eyes wavered, but he didn’t say anything right away. 

Tony continued, “Don’t you feel the same way I do?”

Loki huffed and got up then, Tony looked like he wanted to reach out and grab him, but he didn’t. “If you want to continue this, then don’t ask me to walk willingly to my death.”

He left, shifting to his other form and disappearing behind the elevator doors.

 

* * *

 

Tony was reluctant to accept Loki’s plea, but because he’d felt that dull ache in his heart he’d felt when Pepper had walked out on him in a similar fashion, he conceded. Maybe it was silly of him to want to make up that badly, but because Loki had slept on the couch the following three days, resulting in him barely getting any sleep, he’d given up rather quickly.

So things seemed to be going well. The tension didn’t take too long to dissipate. And before either had realized it, it was December, and January was right around the corner. S.H.I.E.L.D. hadn’t gotten anywhere with their Loki search. Thor returned only a month after he’d shown up the second time and hasn’t been back since. 

It was four days before Christmas and most of New York was covered in snow. Loki and Tony had woken up later than usual, having spent all night tangled together in the throes of passion. It was nearing one PM when Tony found Loki in the kitchen cooking eggs and bacon. After their late breakfast Tony wiggled his eyebrows suggestively when Loki had mentioned something about how uncomfortable wearing both underwear and pants was. 

An hour later they were fixing the mess they’d made of the table. 

Once they were dressed in their t-shirts and boxers, Tony offered to put on a movie and Loki simply shrugged. 

So now they were both on the couch. Tony sat with his back to the corner of the couch and his legs spread, while Loki sat in between them. Both of his legs were along the couch, over one of Tony’s and covered with a light sheet. 

The credits were rolling for the movie, Reindeer Games, when Loki finally spoke up. “That was utterly horrific.” 

Tony laughed at the disgust on Loki’s face. “What? This is an American classic.”  

“You’re joking,” Loki deadpanned and he felt Tony shrug behind him. 

“I am. But, aren’t you glad you watched it at least once?” 

“I could have lived my entire life blissfully unaware of this tragic work of art. Why would anyone go through that much trouble to rob a casino?”  

Tony moved his hand and subconsciously ran it through Loki’s hair while he thought. “If you’re desperate enough, people get creative.” 

Loki hummed at the soothing treatment Tony was giving his scalp. “Have you?” 

“Have I what?” Tony asked, sounding lost and a little aroused by the way Loki’s hair felt in his hand. 

“Been so desperate that you’ve gotten creative?” Loki closed his eyes then, focusing on the feeling.  

“Yeah, I could think of a couple times. Mainly when I was kidnapped.” Tony’s hand stopped and it caused Loki to open his eyes. He noticed Tony’s hesitation to continue and it made him feel a bit tense. It wasn’t until Tony continued to scratch and run his hand through his hair that he felt himself relaxing again. “It was a long time ago. Now that I think about it. But I mean, it started all this.” Tony waved his hand absently indicating the tower itself, among other things. 

Loki wasn’t sure if he should ask, but he found himself doing so without giving it much thought, “What happened?” 

Tony shrugged, “I used to sell weapons to the military. War artillery. The works. You’d love it.” Tony pointed and Loki chuckled. 

“I’m sure.” 

Tony smiled before he continued, “My business partner... my friend, he hired some people to kill me when I was doing a demonstration in Afghanistan. Didn’t work, obviously. And of course, he was fired.” Tony joked and Loki couldn’t help but laugh again. “It wasn’t all bad though. Met a friend. He helped me create this.” He tapped the arc reactor in his chest. Loki’s eyes followed the movement. The god suddenly felt very uncomfortable. It was as if he was suddenly remembering something. 

“Yinsen,” He said in a whisper, but Tony had caught it. His eyes widened considerably.  

“How did you know that?” His hand paused in the thick black hair. Loki looked at him, his eyes debating something he’d tried not to think about since their argument the prior month.

“I saw it, because you’re touching me.” he decided to lie.  

Tony nodded. “Right, That’s So Loki. I almost forgot about your psychic abilities.” 

“It’s hardly that.” 

“Uh huh,” Tony didn’t seem to considered Loki’s words at all. He was busy eying Loki’s face and neck, looking distracted. “Say, can you tell me what I’m thinking now?”  

Loki grinned, ignoring the nasty feeling in his gut that hadn’t fully dissipated since they’d started talking about Afghanistan. “I don’t need to use magic to—.” Loki didn’t get to finish his thought. Tony pulled his head back using the hand in his hair and latched onto his mouth in a heated kiss.  

He pried Loki’s lips open and moaned at the way Loki’s tongue immediate moved to intertwine with his.

Loki grabbed the back of Tony’s neck and tilted his head to deepen the kiss. They were both already feeling it.  

Tony reached down under the cover over Loki’s legs and slid his hand into the tight briefs. He immediately fisted the erection and slowly stroked up and down the shaft. Loki jumped at the initial feeling, but soon was relaxed and shuddering against Tony.  

Tired of the fabric between them, Loki leaned back and pulled his shirt over his head. He shifted around on the couch so that he was completely straddling Tony’s hips, then pulled Tony’s shirt off next. 

As soon as it was off, Loki continued their lip-lock. Tony’s hands ran up Loki’s back. He dug his short nails into the pale skin and Loki arched into the feeling, simultaneously pushing his hips forward and grinding their crotches together. 

Tony moaned, taking the initiative to run one hand down his back until it was, once again, inside Loki’s briefs. This time, he grabbed a fist full of Loki’s ass and pulled his hips closer, causing them to grind into him again. 

“Boss...” F.R.I.D.A.Y.’s voice cut in.  

Tony released Loki’s lips with a light smack to address his pesky AI, “Not now.” 

Loki didn’t pay any mind to the interruption, and moved his lips to Tony’s neck to suck on his favorite section.  

“But, you have—.” 

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., I’m not gonna tell you again.” Tony warned, and then rolled his eyes to the back of his head, consumed by what Loki was doing to his neck. 

“Boss, I really think you should...” 

The elevator doors opened a second later. Pepper walked in with her phone pressed to her ear. It was too fast for either of them to properly react. 

“Yes, I want to push that meeting to ne—AH! OH MY GOD.” Pepper, dropped her phone, turned her head and covered her eyes. “What the hell, Tony!” 

“Jesus!” Tony jumped up, and in doing so, unceremoniously dropped Loki onto the floor. Tony hadn’t seemed to notice. He stepped around Loki and covered his crotch, because his erection was glaringly obvious in his thin boxers. “What are you doing here, Pepper? There’s like ten feet of snow outside.” 

Tony walked up, but Pepper held her hand out to stop him before he had gotten too close. She slowly turned her head and peeked at him through her hand. “Excuse me, if I don’t let snow stop me from getting my work done. And I told you last week I’d be coming by today for the... God, Tony, can you put on some pants?”  

“Hold on. You see Pepper, you sort of barged in on something and—” 

Pepper’s eyes widened as she spotted and recognized the man collecting himself off the floor. She moved her hand away from her face, then walked a few feet past Tony with her mouth gapping. “Tony, that’s... isn’t that?” She pointed at Loki, who looked far from pleased as he sat back on the couch, unashamed of how prominent his erection was in his boxer briefs. 

“Hello, darling.” Loki greeted and Pepper bristled. Tony did the same, because he knew Loki was pissed and it was likely because he’d pretty much tossed him aside once Pepper showed up. 

“That’s Loki!” Pepper shouted at Tony, then turned back to Loki. “You’re Loki! You’re Thor’s evil brother!” She was becoming hysterical. 

Loki rolled his eyes before he fixed them in a cold stare at the blubbering woman, “Lovely meeting you as well.” 

Pepper shrieked, “Ah! What is going on? Tony!”  

“Yes! Right, okay. Look Pep. Peppy-Pep. It’s okay. Just let me explain.” Tony moved around to stand in front of her, thankfully he was soft now and able to think clearly again. He rubbed her arms soothingly and waited for her breathing to even out. 

“Okay. Explain. Why is Loki here and why did I just walk in on you two doing... THAT?” 

“Easy explanation, really. We were going to fuck each other senseless.” Loki interjected in a tone full of contempt, and Pepper let out an indiscernible noise.

“Not helping.” Tony said, holding a hand out to Loki as a way to get him to back down. “Pepper. Pepper!” Tony drew her attention back to him. “It’s true.” 

Her eyebrows pinched. She tilted her head as she asked in a voice that sounded like she was trying her best not to go insane. “What’s true?” 

“We’re... sleeping together.” 

“You’re serious?” Pepper asked, and Tony nodded. “You’re not joking? This isn’t a joke?” 

“No jokes.” 

He honestly hadn’t expected what happened next. Pepper pulled back and slapped Tony hard across the face. 

The next words she shouted out hit him hard, “Did you forget about Phil?” 

Loki got up, but Tony turned to him before he could do anything. “No, Loki.” Loki scoffed and sat back down with his arms crossed. 

Pepper was heading to the elevators and Tony followed after her. 

“Wait, Pepper. Please...” 

They got to the elevators and Pepper whipped around to glare at him. “Don’t Tony. Number one, you’ve been lying to me haven’t you?  _Lady Olympia?_ It was Loki all along, wasn’t it?” 

Tony looked away then. He couldn’t say anything to that. 

“You know what, Tony, it’s fine. Forget it.” 

She turned away, but Tony grabbed her arm before she could get to the elevator. “Pepper please.” Tony spoke in a low voice. “I need to know you’re not going to tell anyone.” 

Pepper’s eyes widened. Tony could see the hot anger boiling behind her pupils. “What did he tell you? Hm? Did he say he changed and that he regrets the thousands of lives he ruined? The people he killed? Or did you just think: _Oh, this will be fun! Another challenge for the infamous sleaze-bag, Tony Stark_.” Pepper waited for some type of response. But Tony couldn’t find anything to say. She huffed, “Fine. I won’t tell anyone about the murderer you’ve got behind closed doors, so that you can continue fucking him. In the meantime, I quit.” 

Tony stood silently as Pepper got into the elevator and disappeared behind the doors. 

He stood there for longer than necessary just staring at his own reflection through the steel doors. When he did will himself to walk away, his mind was all over the place. His heart didn’t feel too good either. 

He knew the heartache wasn’t just because he’d possibly just lost his assistant of ten years, or that he’d been walked out on by the only woman he loved for a second time. It was mostly due to the fact that she’d vocalized every reservation he’d had about being with Loki in only five minutes. It hurt even worse, because he was starting to understand that the feelings he had for Loki had grown and mutated into something that had already consumed him. 

When he passed the couch, he couldn’t look Loki in the eyes. He quietly changed his boxers, and threw on a pair of jeans and a fresh T-shirt. When he was done, he walked over to the bar and up the stairs that led to his launch pad. 

“I’m going out for a bit,” was all he could manage to say to Loki. He went up the stairs that led outside.

Once outside he activated his nanosuit, and flew away into the night, searching for anywhere to go but here. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Everyone!!
> 
> Thanks for reading and responding to this story so positively <3 I'm excited and I hope you're all looking forward to the next chapter. I'll be posting again soon!!
> 
> Until then~


	7. Ymir's Ultimatum

Tony hadn’t returned that night or the next day. 

He couldn’t quite piece together the look in Tony’s eyes after that damned woman came and went. She effectively killed the mood and buried it. He hadn’t missed the verbal onslaught she’d given Tony by the elevator either. He hated that listening in from where he’d sat on the couch made him feel, for lack of better words, depressed. 

On the next day when Tony still hadn’t shown up again, Loki spent the first half of it glaring at the walls. He felt hopeless. He had no clue where Tony went, and it would only use up unnecessary energy trying to locate him.  

So all he could do was sit there and wait for him to come back. 

However, something in the atmosphere changed. He’d been sitting on the couch when it happened. 

He heard a vaguely familiar voice speak to him, _“Long time no see, my king.”_

Loki’s blood ran cold. His body felt like it had been split in two and in an instant he was sitting in a pitch-black room across from the old man, Yinsen, who had started this whole thing.  

“You’ve been living quite the life since we last met.” Yinsen spoke in a lighthearted tone, but his eyes were dark and humorless. 

Loki bristled at the words, “What do you need, old man?”  

Yinsen smiled, “You haven’t lost sight, have you?” Loki didn’t respond right away, so he continued. “You have been frolicking with Mr. Stark for months now, and yet, you have yet to obtain the power that we spoke of.”  

“I haven’t forgotten.” 

“Then you intend to keep this charade of a life going?” Yinsen stood from his position on the floor. As he approached Loki, he was forced to stand to his feet as well. Yinsen grabbed Loki by the neck and lifted him up until his back was pressed against a solid surface. Loki tried to fight out of the grip, but the old man was surprisingly far too strong. “You listen here, Son of Laufey. You’re obviously not seeing clearly. Tony Stark doesn’t have any feelings for you, and if he did, they are built off of a lie, your lie. Don’t let them trick you. You can be strong. You can have anything and anyone you want once you obtain that strength. Think about the bigger picture.”  

“Mr. Odinson? Mr. Odinson, should I phone Boss? Mr. Odinson.” Loki could hear FRIDAY’s voice calling to him.  

Yinsen grinned, seeming to have heard it as well. “You  _will_  locate his power source. If you don’t I will do it myself and do you know what I’ll do first?” Yinsen leaned forward, tightening his grip around Loki’s neck. He seethed, “I’ll rip out Stark’s neck, chop his head up and force it down your throat.”  

The darkness went away in a second, and Loki fell to the ground. He was no longer on the couch when he came to, and was now against the window. 

“Mr. Odinson? Mr.—.”

“Yes! What?” Loki hissed. 

“Are you alright? Should I call my Boss?”  

“I’m fine,” he bit out and reached up to rub his sore skin. He could still feel that pressure around his neck. 

 

* * *

 

Tony had left his penthouse for Miami. He hadn’t been home in a long time now. He’d usually stop by every now and then in between trips, but since he and Loki had officially become intimate, he didn’t feel a strong desire to. 

But after Pepper had stormed out, he wasn’t sure where else to go. 

Once he’d gotten there, he immediately changed and went out to one of the local clubs. He’d tried to pick someone up, and while there were many interested parties, he couldn’t bring himself to take them home. 

So he left alone after downing several drinks.  

Drunk and alone in his apartment, he couldn’t stop thinking about Loki. For one second he just wanted to stop seeing those piercing green eyes and those damned lips. He wanted to know that he wasn’t completely gone. He wanted to know that he hadn’t actually fallen in love with someone who he should, and had every right to hate.  

But it was no use. Every thought led back to Loki, so he continued to drink until there was nothing there.

 

* * *

 

He woke up the next day with a headache that made him feel nauseous. 

After some aspirin and two bottles of water he almost felt human again. 

He took a long shower, changed into sweatpants and a T-shirt. He grabbed his phone on the way to his couch and looked through the missed calls and messages. None of them were from Loki. Then again, he hadn’t expected that any of them would be. Since Loki had gotten the phone, he never bothered to use it. He only carried it around because Tony used it to track his movements. It would honestly be more concerning if he _did_ call. 

Nothing from Pepper either, but that was also a no-brainer.

He was about to put his phone down when it buzzed in his hand.  

“Incoming call from Captain Rogers, Boss.” FRIDAY announced.  

“Yeah, I can see that,” Tony grumbled, then accepted the call. He held the phone up to his ear, “Yeah?” 

“Tony!” 

“Captain?” His voice was gruff and barely recognizable. He tried to sound like his usual lighthearted self.  

“Where are you?”  

“Home.” 

“The Tower?” 

“Miami. Sorry, where is this going exactly? I love these small talks and everything, but I’ve got a killer headache and I’ve gotta tell you, this isn’t helping.” Tony got up and went over to his freezer. He reached inside and grabbed an ice pack. It was really the only thing he’d kept in there. 

“I get it,” Steve started out, sounding frustrated. “I’m calling on behalf of everyone. Are you coming to the Christmas party tomorrow?” 

Tony blinked at that, pressing the pack to his forehead as he sat back at the bar. “Wasn’t I hosting the party?” 

“You are.” Steve confirmed and it made Tony groan. 

“Right. Yeah, third floor on the tower. I’ll be there. What time did I say it would start?”  

“Seven.” 

“Perfect. Okay, later Captain Kangaroo. And don’t show up late to my party.” 

Steve made a noise that sounded vaguely like a scoff and said “Same goes for you” then ended the call.

Tony dropped his phone onto the bar and rubbed his face with his free hand. He decided he should head back to the tower to figure this thing out.  

His conversation with Steve had successfully brought him back to realty and now he was once again faced with the issues at hand. 

He’d been playing house with Loki for almost a year. His very capable, perfect assistant just quit on him because of Loki. And even though he would always love Pepper, he didn’t know if he was willing to abandon Loki just to get her back in his life... as his assistant, of course.  

His equations, deductions, theories, calculations, and hypotheses, they all led to one conclusion: he was in love with Loki Odinson. And what was worse is that he didn’t even remember feeling this way about Pepper. He’d thought she was everything: smart, beautiful, funny. And when she had turned down his proposal and subsequently left him not long after, he didn’t think it was possible for him to feel that way again. And now...  

This thing with Loki was maddening. He was playing with fire. It was a terrifying thing to get involved in. And if Loki didn’t feel the same way, and thought this was only a game, something to pass the time, Tony didn’t know if he could take it. 

 

* * *

 

Loki managed to leave the tower, even with mounds of snow covering most of New York. 

He made his way to the townhouse he’d gotten accustomed to visiting every now and then. 

When he’d gotten there, he waited patiently in the cold with a light jacket on until the door eased open. 

“Tom?” Frida popped her head in the opening and smiled. “How did you manage to get here with the snow like this?” She asked while beckoning him in. 

Loki smiled and stepped forward, placing a chaste kiss on her cheek, and then following her through to the living room. He finally answered once he was inside and pulling his jacket off, “It’s fine. I actually prefer the weather like this.” He sat down on one of the chairs as Frida walked off, presumably to prepare some tea.

When she came back he was surprised to see her holding out a small gift bag. She held it up to him and smiled, “I’m glad you came by, dear. I’ve been wondering when I could give you this.” 

He stared at it, and then peeked up at Frida’s giddy face. 

“What’s this?” He asked when he finally took the bag from her. 

“A Christmas present, dear.”  

“Christmas present?” He thought he’d heard Tony say something about this _Christmas_ , but he didn’t understand why that meant he would receive some sort of gift. The way Tony described it seemed like just another holiday to use as an excuse to get drunk. “Why?” 

She touched his face with her frail hand and gave him a look that made Loki’s heart yearn for his mother. She rubbed his chin with her thumb, and spoke softly, “Because, you’re very important to me, Tom.” 

Loki turned his head downward. He felt the mixture of guilt he always felt around Frida. It was the same guilt that compelled him to visit her as often as he did. He did enjoy her company and, if he were being honest, he’d grown to care for her as deeply as she had for him. But, he couldn’t help but dwell on her confession the first time they’d met. Her husband had been killed, and he was the killer. 

“I don’t know if I can accept this,” Loki finally said, holding the gift back out to Frida.

“You better. Didn’t your parents teach you it’s rude not to accept a gift?” She gave him a mock-glare and rolled her eyes. 

Loki smiled and shook his head, “But I have nothing to give you in return.”

Frida laughed, “Are you kidding? Tom, for all these months you’ve come out of your way to hang out with a boring old woman like me. That’s more than enough.”  

Loki nodded this time, still smiling at her kind words. He finally relented, “Alright. I accept. Shall I open it now?” 

“Yes, of course,” she waved a hand at him as if what he’d said was nonsense, and then walked into the kitchen. 

He watched her go, then looked down at the gift. He dug his hand inside and pulled out what revealed itself to be a sweater. 

If Loki didn’t know what cheesy was before, he knew now. It had to be the most hideous sweater he’d ever seen. It was red and green; with a reindeer on the front that looked a bit more like a monster.

When Frida came back with tea, she beamed at the sight of him holding it up. “Do you like it?” 

Loki laughed a little, unsure of what to say. “It’s...interesting.”  

“Oh you don’t have to lie to me. I know it’s very ugly,” she said in a voice full of humor. Loki allowed himself to laugh harder along with her. 

“You’re not wrong,” he nodded, but held the sweater to his lap anyway. 

She shrugged an aged shoulder and sat across from him. She handed him one of the cups and he accepted it with a nod. “I’ve never knit anything in my life, but I’ve always wanted to.” 

“Well then, I’m honored,” he sipped at his tea after that.  

They stayed in silence for a while. Loki’s mind drifted to the last time he’d seen Tony. He had been content, and that was terrifying in its self. For a moment, he really thought that whatever he had with Tony, whatever they wanted to call it, was something that he could live with. 

“Dear?” Frida’s voice drew him out of his thoughts. 

“Hm?” he looked up. He couldn’t quite relax his face as much as he wanted to. 

“You look like you’re in pain. Did something happen?” 

Loki chuckled and lifted a hand to rub his tense brow. “Perceptive as always.”  

“You’re not hiding it very well, dear.”

“Pardon me, if I’m rude. But I doubt you could help, darling.” 

Frida laughed at that, “How could you possibly know if you don’t tell me?” 

Loki smiled, unable to argue. He looked down at his tea and peeked to the side at her. “Well...” he was skeptical about how much he should divulge. But, if there was one person he could talk to and get a semblance of good advance from, it was Frida. He placed his tea to the side when he decided on what he would say. “Do you remember that man who came to get me a while back? The first time we met?” 

Frida smiled and nodded, “Of course dear, Tony Stark is a national treasure.” He wasn’t sure if she was being sarcastic or not. It was always hard to tell with the way her voice made everything sound a little too sweet. 

“Haha, right,” Loki nodded. “Well, we’re been sort of... seeing each other.” Her eyes widened a bit, but she didn’t respond. She nodded for him to continue. “But if I’m being honest, I was only fooling him so that I could take something that he had.” He peeked at Frida again; she acknowledged his words with a slow nod. He squirmed a bit, but continued through his discomfort. “Things turned out differently than I thought it would. I hadn’t really planned to take it as far as it had gone. Now I’m afraid that I’ve made a mistake in all this. And…the thing I originally wanted doesn’t seem as important as it had in the beginning.”  

Frida took a sip of her tea, then hummed both at the taste and at Loki’s predicament. “Why don’t you tell him how you feel?”  

Loki grew frustrated without meaning to. He stood from his seat, letting the sweater fall to the floor and paced around the living room in a mixture of irritation and confusion. He began rambling, “That’s precisely the issue! I don’t know how I feel. I’ve never felt like this. I just wanted.” He made a fist with his hand, completely lost in his thoughts. “I wanted that power. I wanted to finish what I started on this damned planet. I could have taken over this world and finally I’d be content with this disgusting excuse for a life I’ve been living. But then I spent time with him and over time I...” he paused; his fist fell to his side. “Over time I started to realized I’d never in my life been as happy as I was when I was with him.” 

Frida was up on her feet when Loki realized he’d just spilled more beans than he should have. He was afraid for a moment that she would run in fear or become hysterical. But she simply walked over and picked up the sweater she’d made for him. She stared down at it and ran her hand over the fabric in a show of nostalgia. “Oh my Loki, you don’t ever see what’s in front of you. Always looking for hidden answers, when they’ve always been in plain view.” Loki’s eyes widened. Too shocked to stay in disguise, he shifted back to his usual form, staring at Frida as if she’d grown a second head. 

As she held out the sweater to him, she shifted into the body of his mother, Frigga. 

For a moment he just stared, then he let out a breathless laugh and shook his head. “I should’ve known,” his voice was dark and menacing, with a hint of pain. “You’re here to take me back to father, are you? Fooling me all this time, waiting for me to slip up…”  

Frigga frowned, “Why would I drag out something I could have done months ago?” She held the sweater to her chest when she realized he wouldn’t take it immediately. 

Loki backed away from her, his voice was full of disgust, “Why would you lie? Why all those stories? Were you just having fun?” 

She sighed; sounding exhausted, and shook her head. “All of those stories were true. Frida was not all a lie. She did live here with her husband, who was killed nearly five years ago in an attack led by you,” she pointed, “In New York on his way home from work. She died shortly after, depressed because of her late husband and inability to bare children.” Loki’s heart ached a bit at the knowledge, but he did his best not to let it show. However, Frigga knew her son well, and took another step forward to place a soothing hand on his cheek.  

Loki let out a calming breath and closed his eyes as he spoke, “Why?” 

Frigga laughed heartily, and it made Loki open his eyes to look into hers. “Oh, my Loki.” She strokes his cheek lovingly. “It has been ages since I got to listen to you talk, hear you laugh, see you smile. You don’t know how amazing it has been for me to spend this time with you.” 

Loki felt himself wavering. His mother always knew how to reach his heart like no other. He placed his hand over hers, “Does Odin know how my presence here?”  

“He does.”  

His heart sunk. He dropped his hand and turned to walk away, but she grabbed his wrist before he could get far. 

“But he has known for some time,” she tried to reassure him, but he didn’t give in right away. “Loki, you think us fools. If we wanted to bring you back, we would have sent Thor for you. If we thought you were causing harm to yourself or to others we would have seen to it that you were stopped. Do you not understand?” She leaned forward until she drew his eyes back.  

Loki scoffed, but was unable to look away. “And what of my foolhardy brother?”  

She smiled, “You know him. He’d rush in without thinking if we had told him of your presence. I was afraid it would scare you off. Your magic is strong, Loki. You were hard to find. Even Heimdall remains blind to you.”  

“And you were able to see?” 

She shook her head, “No, not exactly. I took to the disguise of this woman and searched for a long time on these old legs until I found you that day.” 

Loki shook his head, “An unnecessary effort on your behalf.” 

“No, Loki. I have been able to see you grow. You cannot possibly comprehend how much it means to me to have been in your company. Your father and I are proud.” 

He let out a heavy sigh in a mixture of relief and exhaustion. He didn’t bother correcting her about Odin, even if he felt the need to. “And the old man? Do you know of his plans as well?” 

Frigga tilted her head, “Who?”  

Loki’s eyes narrowed, “He called himself Yinsen. He sat in the cell across from mine.”

Frigga looked away, trying to understand what Loki was saying. “The cell across from yours remains empty, my love. As it always has.” 

Loki’s eyes widened. 

 

* * *

 

Tony made it back to his penthouse just an hour after getting off the phone with Steve. It only took him around five minutes to fly over in his suit, but he’d spent another fifty or so minutes thinking over these feelings he’d developed for his resident God of Destruction. 

As he walked down from the launch pad into the penthouse, he didn’t know if he was relieved or disappointed that Loki was no where to be found. He’d likely gone out to visit that old lady. Tony smiled at the thought. Just imagining Loki kicking the shit with a sweet old woman just seemed both hilarious and insanely adorable. Two words he would have never put next to Loki’s name just a year ago. 

He went over to make himself a drink. While he pulled out a glass he paused when his watch buzzed. A discreet message popped up from FRIDAY.  

INTRUDER. SILENT PROTOCOL RED ACTIVATED

Tony swiped the message away and continued to pour his drink. He could feel the presence of someone behind him. “Been a minute since I’ve had an uninvited guest.” Tony said as he placed the bottle to the side. “Don’t mind me, just getting myself a drink before my team arrives.” He spun with his drink and nearly let it slip from his hands when he saw who it was. 

The man standing there was a face he’d never forget. All those years ago in Afghanistan, this man Yinsen had aided in his escape. Tony almost choked, but he kept his composure. 

“Yinsen?” He asked to make sure and Yinsen returned the greeting with a kind smile. 

“Hello, Mr. Stark. It’s been quite some time.” 

Tony rounded the bar, forgetting his drink on the counter as he went to inspect the man.  

“I was sure you were dead.” Tony’s voice was full of disbelief. “FRIDAY, switch to yellow for me.” 

“Sure thing, Boss. As you wish.” 

Yinsen looked up at the voice, but didn’t comment on it. 

Tony wasn’t sure if he believed his eyes. He wondered for a moment if he was experiencing some sort of anxiety based psychosis. But, then again, how fucked up would he have to be to start hallucinating about Yinsen of all people. 

Yinsen chuckled and shook his head. “No, I haven’t been able to join my family yet. It seems I still have work to do.” 

Tony looked around the room then back at the man whose face he swore he’d never forget. And then, the shock passed and something dawned on him. “How’d you get in here?”  

Yinsen smiled again, and this time Tony could see something ominous behind those eyes. “I realized something amazing, Mr. Stark. When I was with you in that cave, I harnessed something magnificent; a power like no other.” 

“Uh... FRIDAY I’m sensing some crazy in this one, you wanna switch back to...” 

“Already done, Boss.” 

Yinsen laughed, “What’s wrong, old friend? You don’t want to catch up?” 

“Yeah, about that. Can we go back to the harnessing power spiel? That was pretty interesting.” 

Yinsen stalked up to him, transforming as he went and Tony pressed on his arc reactor to activate his suit. His body was covered just in time, because in an instant Tony was being held into the air with one strong, glowing blue arm. Yinsen’s whole body grew impressively tall, to the point that his head was nearly crushing through the ceiling. He was blue all over, his skin turning into solid ice, and radiating temperatures far below zero. His voice came out several octaves lower when he spoke, “Where is the arc reactor? The big one!” 

Tony grabbed at the hand around his neck with one arm but it wouldn’t budge. He held the other up to blast Yinsen’s face, but he didn’t even blink at the impact. Instead his lips spread into a dangerous grin. 

“What the hell are you?” Tony choked out. The hand around his neck was crushing his suit and causing it to grind into his skin. 

“Let me properly introduce myself. I am Ymir, of Jötunheim. I’m here for your energy, Mr. Stark. Loki failed to acquire the information I asked for, and it seems he has chosen the wrong path. So, I must take it myself.” 

“L-Loki?” Tony felt his heart squeeze painfully in his chest. He was afraid, because even in his suit, this man/monster was about to choke him to death, and because of that his heart rate sped up and he felt himself sweating. “Loki was behind this?” He managed to say, and hated that his voice wavered a bit. 

Ymir’s grin spread wider on his ice-deformed and his eyes flickered at the despair in Tony’s voice. He chuckled darkly, “Playtime is over, friend.” 

 

* * *

 

 _“The cell across from yours remains empty, my love. As it always has.”_  

After hearing those words Loki’s stomach dropped. He felt an intense pull of anxiety. Loki left Frigga in the townhome with a hasty kiss on the cheek, before he disappeared. 

He reappeared in the tower, and stood in his black leather and gold armor in the middle of the penthouse. 

When he’d gotten there it was just as he feared. Yinsen, transformed into a monster he’d never seen even during his previous battles in Jötunheim, was standing there in his blue skin and glowing hand. He had Tony by the neck in his Iron Man suit, likely the only thing from keeping his bones from snapping. 

Loki called to him, “Yinsen!”  

Ymir slowly turned his head, aiming his grin at Loki. “My King, you failed to heed my warning. So I took matters into my own hands.” 

“Let him go.” Loki growled, but Ymir didn’t budge. He held out his hand and a dagger appeared in his grip. When he flung it at him, Ymir easily caught it with his teeth. Loki’s eyes widened when it was easily crushed into pieces and spat out as if it were seeds of a fruit. 

“Funny you showed up, we were just talking about you,” Ymir said and looked back to Tony, “Weren’t we, Mr. Stark?” 

Tony was unusually quiet. Loki was about to say something, do something, he wasn’t sure. He didn’t get to make up his mind when a red, white and blue shield smashed through the window, bounced off the bar and headed towards Ymir. He turned and grabbed it with his hand, stopping it before it sliced into his ice-built body  

Tony used the distraction to his advantage. “Put 50% power into the upper right thruster.” 

“Done.” FRIDAY answered, and as Ymir turned to him again, Tony blasted him in the face, successfully releasing himself from the grip around his neck. 

A small helicarrier came into view of the window. Captain America was standing on top of it beside Hawkeye, whose arrow was fully drawn and aimed at Ymir’s head. 

Tony ignored Loki for the time being and put his attention on the enemy. “Looks like backup’s here. What’s your move, Thing?”

Ymir glared at him. Then without warning, he dived out the window. A thunderbolt shot from the sky, and they all knew who was coming in to join the battle. Steve jumped through the window to retrieve his shield, while the helicarrier, flown by their Black Widow, dove down after the enemy.

Steve looked at Loki, regarding him with curious eyes, but not finding the need to attack him since Tony wasn’t making any immediate moves. So instead Steve made sure his friend saw his concern, latched his shield onto his arm, then jumped from the window to join the battle. Tony could only assume the hulk was there to catch him.

Tony and Loki stayed where they were as everything happened. Tony was staring out the window, a mixture of emotions were ripping at his insides.

“Anthony...” Loki started, but Tony didn’t want to hear it. He didn’t want to hear his voice. So he held his hand up and blasted Loki hard enough for him to fly back into the opposite wall.

Loki struggled to get out of the rubble he’d created. When he finally did and was able to look at Tony again, Tony was looking back at him. The helmet of his Iron Man suit peeled back to reveal his face. There was no playfulness, no flirting, all he saw was hurt in those brown eyes. 

After a stiff moment Tony whispered, “You son of a bitch. You were using me...all that time.” He shook his head, an attempt to rearrange the thoughts in his head. “Of course you didn’t want to tell anyone. And I believed you. Stupid,” he let out a humorless laugh. “I’m such a fucking moron.” 

“Please, I...” Loki didn’t know what he wanted to say, but Tony stopped him before he could figure it out.

“Don’t!” Tony huffed after his outburst. He was desperately trying to keep his cool. “I don’t want to see your face again.” 

Loki felt his heart plummet. His knees were shaking from the amount of breath that left him. What was his feeling? It was crippling. Loki held a hand out, unsure of how to communicate what he wanted. “Anthony, I—please I...”

Tony laughed, cutting him off. As he spoke, his voice was full of so much hatred and self-depreciation, it made Loki’s nerves itch, “Hey, no need to explain. That’s your thing, right? Trickster God? And, boy are you good at it.” Tony deactivated his suit and walked over to Loki. “I mean, I really believed you for a minute there. But I guess getting to screw me was just an added bonus.” Tony shrugged, his eyes heated and narrowed as he looked up, directly into Loki’s eyes.

And then, Loki’s eyes widened as he watched Tony rip the arc reactor off of his chest. It was a shock, because Loki was sure the thing was keeping him alive, and yet, Tony took it from his chest as if it were a simple magnet and threw it to Loki’s feet. 

“Here, that’s what you wanted, right?” Tony gestured towards it. Loki only looked at it for a moment before he stepped over it to approach his lover.

“Anthony—.” Tony backed away, glaring as he walked over to his bar.

“Don’t worry, I don’t need it. Figured out how to stay alive without it a long time ago. So there, you got what you wanted, right?” Tony was trying to sound casual, even through his anger. His uncaring tone only made Loki feel more anxious. He knew he was losing him, and each second that passed by felt like Tony was slipping further and further away. 

At the bar, Tony pulled out a similar looking arc reactor and replaced the one he’d thrown towards Loki. 

Loki watched him in silence, feeling hopeless. For a moment, he felt like he couldn’t breathe. It took all his strength to get the words out, but he forced himself nonetheless, “Anthony... Tony…” Tony finally looked up at him again as Loki managed to say it, “I love you.”

It was a hard thing to swallow, being in love with a mortal, the enemy. But, he knew it was true, if the desperation he felt at that moment was any indication of that.

However it wasn’t enough to mend the situation. Tony sucked in a sharp breath.

“Go to hell Loki.” And with that, Tony was gone. He activated his suit and leapt from his busted window onto the streets below where he could hear gunshots, the clashing of armor and the bellowing wave of Ymir’s roar. 

Loki was shocked still. Alone now, he finally realized the feeling in his chest was his heart breaking.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Everyone!
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter! Things are boiling down, so I'm excited :> Let me know what y'all think. Next chapter will be up soon. 
> 
> Until then~


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